LB 
1131 

M145 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED 
TO  EDUCATION 


By 
John  Milton  Mclndoo,  Ph.  D. 


A  DISSERTATION  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OP 
»CLARK  UNIVERSITY,  WORCESTER,  MASS.,  IN  PARTIAL 
FULFILMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  THE  DEGREE 
OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  AND  ACCEPTED  ON  THE 
RECOMMENDATION  OF  G.  STANLEY  HALL 


or 


UNIVERSITY 


DETROIT 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOR 

1914. 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED 
TO  EDUCATION 


John  Milton  Mclndoo,  Ph.  D. 


A  DISSERTATION  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF 
CLARK  UNIVERSITY,  WORCESTER,  MASS.,  IN  PARTIAL 
FULFILMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  THE  DEGREE 
OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  AND  ACCEPTED  ON  THB 
RECOMMENDATION  OF  G.  STANLEY  HALL 


DETBOIT 

PUBLISHKD  BY  THB  AUTHOR 

1914. 


Copyright,   1914, 

By  JOHN  MILTON  McINDOO,  PH.  D. 
Detroit,  Mich. 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.1 

by  JOHN  MILTON  McINDOO,  Ph.  D. 


PART  I. 

The  question,  "What  shall  we  teach?"  cannot  be  answered 
until  after  we  have  solved  the  problem  of  the  spontaneous  or 
native  interests  of  the  child.  These  native  interests  are  de- 
termined by  the  innate  or  instinctive  tendencies  which  func- 
tion in  the  child  according  to  pre-established  laws  laid  down 
in  his  nervous  system.  On  this  point,  McDougall,  in  his 
Social  Psychology,  says:  "The  human  mind  has  certain  in- 
nate or  inherited  tendencies  which  are.  the  essential  springs 
or  motive  powers  of  all  thought  and  action,  whether  individual 
or  collective,  and  are  the  bases  from  which  the  character  and 
will  of  individuals  and  of  nations  are  gradually  developed 
under  the  guidance  of  the  intellectual  faculties." 

If  we  could  take  any  adult  mind  and  remove  the  last  ac- 
cretion added  to  it,  and  the  next,  and  so  on  till  we  came  to  \ 
the  center  of  the  complex  accretions  of  years,  we  should  find  \ 
the  very  first  firmly  adhering  to  a  native  interest.  If  we 
could  be  permitted  to  continue  this  analysis  of  mental  growtfTN 
we  should  find  these  native  interests  as  having  resulted  from 
the  functioning  of  innate  or  instictive  tendencies.  These  in- 
nate tendencies  are  the  child's  inheritance  from  the  past,  and, 
as  stated  above,  evolve  in  him  according  to  pre-established 
laws  laid  down  as  engrams  in  his  nervous  system.  As  these 
instinctive  tendencies  evolve,  they  function  as  native  interests. 
Since  this  is  racial,  rather  than  individual,  it  is  true  of  every 
normal  child.  Education  must  wait  upon  the  genetic  func- 
tioning of  these  innate  tendencies,  and  through  the  native  in- 
terests thus  evolved,  must  find  its  way  of  approach  to  the 
child. 

The  work  of  educating  the  child  is  not  the  work  of  stor- 
ing his  mind  with  facts,  but  rather  is  it  the  work  of  furnishing 
the  proper  stimuli  for  his  innate  tendencies — to  cause  them  to 
function  properly  and  normally  during  their  nascent  periods. 

1  It  would  be  impossible  for  the  writer  to  acknowledge  in  detail  the 
many  sources  from  which  he  drew  in  preparing  this  thesis.  He  is 
especially  indebted  to  the  lectures  and  writings  of  President  G.  Stan- 
ley Hall  and  Dr.  William  H.  Burnham,  and  to  the  personal  guidance 
and  inspiration  of  these  able  leaders  in  the  fields  of  genetic  psychology 
and  education.  He  wishes  also  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to 
Dr.  Louis  N.  Wilson  and  his  able  corps  of  helpers,  of  the  Clark  Uni- 
versity Library. 


£  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

These  tendencies  are,  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  child's  life, 
general  and  varied  in  their  manner  of  functioning.  This 
makes  it  necessary  that  the  mental  pabulum  furnished  the 
child  be  rich  and  varied  in  its  nature.  The  child  is  interested 
in  things  as  wholes;  with  details  his  mind  has  little  to  do; 
but  he  is  interested  in  a  great  many  things.  His  mind  is  far 
larger  in  its  range  of  tendencies  and  interests  than  any  course 
of  study.  Courses  of  study  should  be  radically  revised  and 
then  highly  enriched  along  the  lines  of  the  child's  native  in- 
terests. 

Later  on  in  this  thesis  in  the  treatment  of  each  instinct, 
I  shall  attempt  to  show  what  the  child  is  naturally  interested 
in — that  is,  what  his  native  interests  are,  arising  from  the 
genetic  functioning  of  his  innate  tendencies  or  instincts.  If 
the  child's  innate  tendencies  have  been  richly  and  widely 
stimulated,  his  mind  will  become  a  highly  endowed  appercep- 
tion organ  and  he  will  possess  a  many-sided  interest  in  things. 

The  genetic  functioning  of  the  .instincts  gives  rise  to 
nascent  periods,  a  knowledge  of  which  is  of  vast  importance 
in  the  education  of  the  child  and  adolescent.  Without  a 
knowledge  of  the  nascent  periods  of  these  innate  tendencies, 
we  must  ever  blunder  in  our  treatment  of  the  child.  The 
error  of  the  school  has  been  to  see  in  the  child  the  finished 
product  of  adulthood  without,  at  the  same  time,  seeing  the 
many  crooks  and  turns  of  the  genetic  highway  along  which 
the  child  and  adolescent  must  travel  before  reaching  the 
state  of  adulthood.  The  result  has  been  to  measure  the  child 
by  adult  standards  and  to  use  hot-bed  methods  all  along  the 
line  to  force  the  growth  of  the  child — to  make  of  him  an 
adult  before  his  time,  and  to  produce  on  every  hand  cases  of 
arrested  development. 

To  understand  the  child,  we  must  understand  his  in- 
stinctive life.  In  fact,  this  is  the  child.  These  instinctive 
tendencies  are  the  sum  total  of  the  survival  values  that  have 
been  selected  from  the  spontaneous  variations,  through 
natural  selection,  in  the  struggle  of  the  race  for  existence. 
They  are  the  very  best  that  the  past  has  to  offer  the  future. 
On  the  stage  of  human  consciousness  each  one  of  these  race 
tendencies  or  instincts  must  play  its  part  and  stamp  its  im- 
press upon  the  life  of  the  child.  Thus,  the  best  that  has 
survived  from  the  experience  of  the  race  is  recapitulated  and 
laid  down  as  permanent  stratifications  in  the  life  of  the  child. 

Concerning  the  importance  of  the  innate  tendencies  and 
their  universal  possession  by  both  man  and  the  lower  animals, 
McDougall,  in  his  Social  Psychology,  writes  as  follows: 
"The  evidence  that  the  native  basis  of  the  human  mind,  con- 
stituted by  the  sum  of  these  innate  tendencies,  has  this  stable, 
unchanging  character,  is  afforded  by  comparative  psychology. 
For  we  find  not  only  these  tendencies,  in  stronger  or  weaker 
degree,  are  present  in  men  of  all  races  now  living  on  the  earth, 
but  that  we  may  find  all  of  them  or  at  least  the  germs  of  them, 
in  most  of  the  higher  animals.  Hence,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  they  played  the  same  essential  part  in  the  minds 


1  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  6 

of  the  primitive  human  stock,  or  stocks,  and  in  the  pre-human 
ancestors  that  bridged  the  great  gap  in  the  evolutionary  series 
between  man  and  the  animal  world." 

Educational  systems,  based  first  on  one  power  or  process 
of  the  human  mind  and  then  on  another,  have 'come  and  gone. 
Some  made  memory  training  their  basis ;  some,  sense  train- 
ing; some,  the  power  or  process  of  association,  and  still  others, 
the  Herbartians,  of  whom  I  shall  speak  later  on,  made  the 
action  and  reaction  of  ideas  one 'upon  another,  the  basis  of  f 
their  educational  system.  Of  these  systems,  the  only  one 
that  still  has  any  considerable  degree  of  recognition  is  the  last 
named,  the  Herbartian.  Two  or  three  decades  ago  Herbartian 
pedagogy  dominated  educational  thought  in  this  country,  but 
is  being  rapidly  supplanted  by  the  child  study  movement, 
initiated  by  President  Hall  spme  thirty  years  ago,  and  since 
that  time  so  vigorously  prosecuted  under  his  leadership.  It 
is  to  this  movement  that  this  thesis  aspires  to  be  a  contribu- 
tion, the  subject  of  which  is  the  pedagogy  of  the  instincts. 

Since  Darwin  revolutionized  biology  by  his  theories  of 
evolution,  our  most  far-seeing  psychologists  have  taken  their 
cue  from  evolutionary  biology.  They  have  seen  that  the 
evolution  of  man,  both  physically  and  mentally,  is  only  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  evolution  of  lower  animal  life;  that  in  the 
earlier  years  of  childhood  the  child  recapitulates  many  of  the 
mental  and  physical  traits  of  animal  life  immediately  below 
man,  as  is  seen  in  comparing  the  child  of  a  few  months  with 
apes  and  monkeys.  Concerning  Darwin's  influence  on  psychol- 
ogy, McDougall  writes  as  follows :  "For  it  is  only  a  compar- 
ative and  evolutionary  psychology  that  can  provide  the  needed 
basis ;  and  this  could  not  be  created  before  the  work  of  Darwin 
had  convinced  men  of  the  continuity  of  human  with  animal 
evolution  as  regards  all  bodily  characters,  and  had  prepared 
the  way  for  the  quickly  following  recognition  of  the  similar 
continuity  of  man's  mental  evolution  with  that  of  the  animal 
world." 

Let  us  leave,  for  a  time,  the  biological  aspect  of  the 
subject,  which  we  shall  have  need  to  refer  to  frequently,  and 
take  up  the  subject  of  interest.  The  term  interest  is  so 
closely  associated  with  the  term  Herbartianism  that  before 
entering  upon  a  discussion  of  the  subject  of  interest  it  is 
necessary  to  give  some  attention  to  the  notion  of  interest  as 
held  by  Herbart  and  some  of  his  so-called  followers.  In  this 
brief  discussion  of  Herbart's  notion  of  interest,  I  shall  try 
to  show  its  inadequacy,  and  to  show  that  the  true  basis  of 
interest  is  found  in  a  study  of  the  instincts ;  that  it  is  a  ques- 
tion that  belongs  to  the  pedagogy  of  the  instincts. 

In  criticising  Herbart's  notion  of  interest,  Dewey  has  this 
to  say:  "According  to  this  psychological  view,  interest  is 
not  psychical  activity,  but  is  a  product  of  the  actions  and  . 
reactions  of  ideas.  Interest  is  simply  one  case  of  feeling,  and 
all  the  feeling  depends  upon  the  mechanism  of  ideas.  In  his 
desire  to  get  rid  of  the  'faculty'  psychology,  Herbart  denies 
any  original  or  primitive  character  to  either  impulse  or  feel- 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

ing."  Thus,  we  see  interest  holds  a  subordinate  place.  Ideas 
contend  for  place  above  the  threshold  of  consciousness.  In 
this  contention  some  fuse.  This  fusion  is  apperception,  and 
gives  a  kind  of  pleasurable  feeling  which  Herbart  calls  in- 
terest. To  quote  again  from  Dewey :  "Interest  is  attached 
in  no  sense  to  the  content  of  the  ideas,  aiming  at  appreciating 
their  intrinsic  values,  but  depends  wholly  on  the  formal  inter- 
action of  the  ideas."  By  putting  the  emphasis  on  ideas,  it 
is  but  a  step  to  transferring  the  emphasis  to  the  child's  en- 
vironment, or  better,  perhaps,  to  the  subject  matter  taught 
him,  which  is  the  source  of  the  ideas,  so  that  we  can  readily 
see  how,  by  following  this  system,  teachers  have  lost  sight  of 
the  child.  I  shall  conclude  this  by  quoting  again  from  Dewey : 
"The  weakness,  both  of  the  Herbartian  psychology  and  ped- 
agogy, seems  to  me  to  lie  just  here — in  giving  the  idea  a  sort 
of  external  existence,  a  ready-made  character,  an  existence 
and  a  content  not  dependent  upon  previous  individual  activ- 
ity. It  abstracts  the  idea  from  impulses  and  the  activity  that 
results  from  them."  *  *  *  This  doctrine  fails  "to  recog- 
nize the  genesis  of  ideas,  the  conceived  ends  out  of  concrete, 
spontaneous  action."  "Herbartianism  seems  to  me  especially 
a  schoolmaster's  psychology,  not  the  psychology  of  a  child." 

Interest  has  been  defined  as  the  affective  state,  resulting 
from  the  reaction  of  the  organism  to  the  object  from  which 
the  stimulation  comes.  In  the  case  of  man  this,  of  course, 
may  refer  to  an  object  of  sense  or  of  thought. 

Some  psychologists  maintain  that  a  functioning  instinct 
has  three  aspects,  the  perceptual,  the  affective,  and  the  cona- 
tive.  Later  on  I  shall  discuss  these  in  detail,  under  the  head- 
ing of  instinct.  The  perceptual  gives  rise  to  the  second,  the 
affective;  this  in  turn  gives  rise  to  the  third  and  culminating 
phase,  the  conative,  which  marks  the  apex  of  the  inciting 
element.  The  second  phase,  the  affective,  is  at  the  basis  of, 
and  gives  rise  to,  the  native  or  natural  interests.  Interest  has 
its  beginning  in  the  functioning  of  the  instincts.  This  affec- 
tive state,  which  has  its  beginning  in  the  functioning  of  the 
instincts,  passes  over  into  the  affective  state  called  interest. 
This  exists  in  all  degrees  of  intensity  and  permanency  from 
the  interest  of  the  moment  to  those  interests  that  become 
permanent  stratifications  of  the  mind.  It  is  a  certain  relation- 
ship established  between  the  self  and  the  inciting  object. 

It  should  be  emphasized  that  interest  is  not  in  the  object 
for  its  own  sake.  It  is  only  as  it  stimulates  to  activity  some 
innate  tendency  that  it  has  interest  for  the  individual.  The 
affective  aspect  or  feeling  aroused  is  the  interest.  This  is  of 
great  pedagogical  importance  for  the  teacher  and  makes  it 
imperative  that  she  follow  the  innate  tendencies  in  selecting 
the  mental  pabulum  for  her  pupils. 

The  selecting  of  subject  matter  in  an  arbitrary  manner — 
that  is,  without  reference  to  the  child's  native  interests — is  a 
common  error  of  our  schools.  This  is  perhaps  more  pre- 
valent in  our  high  schools  than  it  is  in  our  common  schools. 
One  of  the  reasons  for  this  is  that  the  high  schools  are  domi- 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

nated  to  a  great  extent  by  the  colleges  which  compel  the  high 
schools  to  make  their  courses  of  study  fit  the  college  entrance 
requirements.  Much  revision  of  courses  of  study  is  needed 
not  only  in  the  high  school,  but  in  the  elementary  school  as 
well. 

Much  of  the  subject  matter  is  thus  selected  without  ref- 
erence to  the  child's  native  interests,  and  the  teacher  is 
enjoined  to  make  it  interesting.  As  a  result,  there  is  divided 
attention  on  the  part  of  the  pupil — a  division  of  his  mental 
activities.  In  the  words  of  Dewey :  "Externally,  we  have 
mechanical  habits  with  no  psychical  end  or  value.  Internally, 
we  have  random  energy  or  mind-wandering,  a  sequence  of 
ideas  with  no  end  at  all,  because  not  brought  to  a  focus  in  ac- 
tion." 

By  forcing  the  child  to .  give  attention  to  those  things 
corresponding  to  which  he  has  no  natural  tendencies,  we  force 
him  to  acquire  the  habit  of  divided  attention.  This  condition 
of  divided  attention  is  perhaps  more  prevalent  than  we  are 
aware.  In  a  mechanical  way  the  pupil  tries  to  learn  the  lesson 
in  such  a  way  as  to  allow  his  mental  imagery  to  be  free  to 
occupy  itself  with  matters  more  to  its  liking.  The  best  part 
of  the  pupil's  mental  powers  is  usually  thus  engaged  in  matters 
in  which  he  is  really  interested  while  he  is  forcing  himself,  in 
a  superficial  way,  to  give  attention  to  the  matter  in  hand. 
Total  lack  of  interest,  in  the  normal  child,  is  unthinkable. 
He  is  interested  in  something  and  this  something  is  closely 
related  to  his  instinctive  tendencies.  The  thing  is  interesting 
to  the  child  because  it  stimulates  to  action,  or  causes  to  func- 
tion his  innate  tendencies  that  are  nascent  at  that  time. 
Dewey  sums  up  briefly  this  whole  matter  as  follows :  "An 
interest  is  primarily  a  form  of  self-expressive  activity — that  is, 
of  growth  through  acting  upon  nascent  tendencies." 

In  looking  through  psychological  literature,  one  finds 
much  disagreement  as  to  what  instinct  is.  For  the  purposes 
of  this  thesis,  the  term  will  be  given  its  widest  significance, 
such  as  is  given  it  by  James.  He  writes  as  follows  in  defining 
the  instincts :  "They  are  the  functional  correlatives  of  struc- 
ture. The  nervous  system  is,  to  a  great  extent,  a  preorganized 
bundle  of  such  reactions.  Every  instinct  is  an  impulse. 
Whether  we  call  such  impulses  as  blushing,  sneezing,  cough- 
ing, smelling,  or  dodging,  or  keeping  time  to  music,  instincts 
or  not,  is  a  mere  question  of  terminology.  The  process  is  the 
same  throughout." 

Boodin  defines  instinct  as  "a  response  to  stimulus  deter- 
mined by  congenital  structure." 

McDougall,  in  his  Social  Psychology,  writes  as  follows: 
"Instinctive  action  implies  some  enduring  nervous  basis  whose 
organization  is  inherited,  an  innate  or  inherited  psycho- 
physical  disposition,  which,  anatomically  regarded,  probably 
has  the  form  of  a  compound  system  of  sensori-motor  arcs." 

Marshall,  in  his  Instinct  and  Intelligence,  defines  instinct 
as  follows :  "All  instincts  appear  as  modes  of  that  simplest 


6  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

of  all  forms  of  activity,  the  reaction  of  a  living  cell  to  the 
stimulus  received  from  its  environment." 

Lloyd  Morgan  is  disposed  to  take  this  broader  view  of 
instinct.  He  says :  "It  appears  to  me,  then,  that  for  pur- 
poses of  psychological  interpretation,  in  so  far  as  this  is 
concerned  with  the  early  stages  of  the  genesis  of  experience, 
we  should  so  far  broaden  the  connotation  of  the  term  'instinct' 
as  to  include  all  those  primary  and  inherited  modes  of  be- 
havior, including  reflex  acts,  which  contribute  to  what  I  have 
termed  the  primary  tissue  of  experience."  In  another  place 
he  speaks  of  the  importance  of  what  he  calls  "instinctive  be- 
havior." He  says :  "Instinctive  behavior  is  serviceable  on 
the  first  occasion.  Serviceable  for  survival.  In  further  detail, 
serviceable  for  avoiding  danger  by  shrinking,  quiescence,  or 
flight ;  serviceable  for  warding  off  the  attacks  of  enemies ; 
serviceable  for  obtaining  food,  capturing  prey,  and  so  forth ; 
serviceable  for  winning  and  securing  a  mate,  for  protecting 
and  rearing  offspring;  in  social  animals,  serviceable  for  co- 
operating with  others  and  so  behaving  that  not  only  the 
individual  but  the  social  group  shall  survive." 

The  above  quoted  definitions  of  instinct  are,  in  a  general 
way,  in  harmony  with  the  notion  of  the  term  as  it  is  treated 
in  this  thesis.  Instincts  are  so  soon  modified  by  experience 
that  they  soon  lose  their  so-called  pure  nature.  Only  a  few 
of  the  instincts,  such  as  sucking,  crawling,  wailing,  winking, 
that  function  shortly  after  birth,  are  determined  purely  by 
innate  dispositions.  Most  of  the  human  instincts  ripen  at  a 
later  date  when  they  are  modified  by  a  considerable  degree  of 
intelligence  and  imitation,  but  this  does  not  detract  in  the 
least  from  their  instinctive  nature.  On  account  of  these  modi- 
fications, it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  their  manifestations 
differ  markedly  from  those  of  primitive  man.  Let  us  note, 
however,  that  the  difference  is  not  in  the  initial  aspect  of  the 
instinct,  but  in  the  modifications  due  to  environment.  Let  the 
child  be  reared  in  a  savage  environment,  then  the  instinct 
would  become  recrudescent  in  its  functioning. 

Many  instincts  at  first  are  rather  general  in  their  nature, 
but  become  specialized  to  react  to  certain  objects  and  to 
neglect  others.  There  is  a  tendency  at  first  to  recoil  or  rather 
start  at  any  loud  noise,  but  experience  teaches  that  certain 
noises  are  not  accompanied  by  any  harm,  so  that  these  noises 
cease  to  arouse  the  instinct  of  fear;  on  the  other  hand,  certain 
noises  are  found  to  be  usually  accompanied  by  danger,  and  so 
the  instinct  of  fear  becomes  specialized  in  that  particular 
direction.  This  will  no  doubt  explain  the  so-called  acquisition 
of  instincts  during  the  life  of  the  individual.  It  is  more 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  it  is  the  specializing  of  some  gen- 
eral instinct  in  a  particular  direction.  Experience  enters  into 
this  process  of  specialization. 

There  are  many  instincts  of  the  so-called  deferred  type 
which  appear  at  various  periods  after  birth.  The  sex  instinct 
may  be  cited  as  an  example.  These  instincts,  though  deferred 
in  their  functioning,  are  not  acquired  but  are  just  as  innate 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  / 

as  are  the  instincts  that  function  at  birth  or  very  soon  after, 
before  experience  is  able  to  play  much  of  a  role.  In  fact, 
most  of  our  instincts  are  of  the  "deferred"  type.  They  must 
wait  on  structural  development.  When  the  structural  con- 
ditions are  ripe,  if  the  proper  stimuli  present  themselves,  then 
the  innate  tendency  functions  as  an  instinct.  This  instinct 
may  be  of  the  transitory  type,  whose  functioning  is  necessary 
to  the  functioning  of  higher  but  related  instincts.  Certain 
objectionable  elements  may  be  eliminated  by  karthasis  and 
certain  other  elements  sublimated  to  higher  forms  and  strati- 
fications of  psychic  life.  Take,  for  example,  the  fighting 
instinct.  If  it  is  arrested  on  a  lower  plane  of  development, 
we  have  the  brute.  If  crushed  out,  we  have  the  coward.  If 
properly  purgated  and  sublimated,  we  have  the  man  of  grit, 
determination  and  courage. 

Experience  has  its  beginning  in  the  innate  tendencies  or 
instincts.  The  functioning  of  the  instincts  puts  the  mind  in 
the  attitude  of  assimilation.  This  act  of  mental  assimilation 
is  at  first  very  simple,  but  becomes  more  complex  as  the  in- 
stincts become  more  complex  in  their  functioning.  It  seems 
a  contradiction  of  terms  to  say  that  this  assimilative  process 
is  at  first  attended  with  little,  if  any,  discrimination.  This 
assimilation  attending  the  early  functioning  of  the  instincts, 
is  so  void  of  discrimination  that  it  might  be  called  mental 
growth  by  accretion.  This,  however,  is  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  conscious  process.  In  the  broad  sense  of  the  term, 
discrimination,  from  the  very  first,  is  active.  It  is  itself  in- 
stinctive in  its  nature.  Later  a  great  part  of  this  discrimi- 
nation is  handed  over  to  habit  and  intelligence. 

Coercion  in  our  schools,  when  carried  too  far,  is  one  of 
the  causes  of  arrested  development,  since  it  often  indiscrimi- 
nately thwarts  or  impedes  the  normal  functioning  of  the 
innate  tendencies.  They  thus  atrophy  or  are  arrested  on  a 
lower  plane  of  development. 

Not  only  is  the  question  of  what  to  teach  of  prime  im- 
portance, but  also  is  the  question  of  thoroughness — especially 
the  danger  of  thoroughness — equally  important.  Like  all 
good  thing's,  it  can  easily  be,  abused.  The  degree  of  thorough- 
ness will  depend  altogether  on  the  stage  of  development  at 
which  the  child  is  arrived ;  and,  too,  it  will  depend  on  the 
nature  of  the  work  being  presented  at  that  particular  time. 
When  thoroughness  is  carried  to  the  point  where  the  child 
begins  to  mark  time,  a  halt  should  be  called.  The  evil  of 
thoroughness  leads  to  another  evil — the  evil  of  compelling 
pupils  to  repeat  grades.  Too  much  thoroughness  in  the  earlier 
years  of  the  child's  life  leads  to  early  specialization,  making 
impossible  the  laying  of  a  broad  foundation  and  the  establish- 
ing of  a  many-sided  interest.  Such  procedure  dqes  not  allow 
his  varied  range  of  tendencies  to  function  properly,  and  thus  ar- 
rested development  of  the,  neglected  tendencies  is  produced,  as 
well  as  an  arrested  development  of  the  overspecialized  ten- 
dencies. By  narrowing* 'down  to  a  few  things,  the  child's 
mental  processes  become  fixed  at  the  expense  of  spontaneous 


8  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

variation.  May  not  much  of  the  narrowness  and  bigotry  in 
adult  life  be  traced  back  to  the  evils  that  cause  arrested  de- 
velopment in  the  child? 

McDougall  maintains  that  every  instinctive  act  has  three 
aspects ;  the  cognitive,  the  affective,  and  the  conative,  and 
adds :  "Every  instance  of  instinctive  behavior  involves  a 
knowing  of  some  thing  or  object,  a  feeling  in  regard  to  it,  and 
a  striving  towards  or  away  from  that  object."  The  first  as- 
pect of  the  instinctive  process,  the  cognitive  or  perceptual, 
refers,  of  course,  to  that  part  of  the  process  which  has  to  do 
with  the  stimulating  of  the  nerve  centers ;  but  with  reference 
to  the  second  and  third  it  is  perhaps  impossible  to  say  where 
the  feelings  leave  off  and  will  begins.  For  convenience  of 
treatment,  it  may  be  permissible  to  consider  the  instinctive 
process  as  having  the  three  aspects  contended  for  by  Mc- 
Dougall. 

The  energy  generated  in  the  nerve  centers  as  the  culmi- 
nation of  the  cognitive  or  perceptual  aspect  of  the  instinctive 
process — call  this~  energy  psychic,  neural,  or  whatever  you 
please — spreads  to  nearly  all  parts  of  the  body,  especially  to 
the  visceral  organs,  the  heart,  lungs,  blood  vessels,  glands, 
etc.  The  feelings  or  emotions  thus  generated  we  may,  for 
convenience,  call  the  affective  aspect  of  the  instinctive  process. 
Some  psychologists  call  these  feeling's — at  least  some  bf 
them — instinctive  feelings,  or  even  instincts.  I  shall  discuss 
the  so-called  instinctive  feelings  later  on.  Of  the  third  aspect 
of  the  instinctive  process,  McDougall  writes  as  follows :  "Its 
constitution  determines  the  distribution  of  impulses  to  the 
muscles  of  the  skeletel  system  by  which  the  instinctive  action 
is  effected,  and  its  nervous  activities  are  the  correlates  of  the 
conative  element  of  the  psychical  process  of  the  felt  impulse 
to  action." 

McDougall  maintains  that  the  cognitive  and  conative  as- 
pects of  the  instinctive  act  may  be  very  materially  modified 
during  the  life  of  the  individual,  while  the  affective  remains 
practically  unchanged.  He  says:  "It  persists  throughout 
life  as  the  essential  unchanging  nucleus  of  the  disposition." 

In  taking  up  again  a  further  consideration  of  the  feelings 
that  accompany  the  functioning  of  the  instincts,  and  especially 
certain  ones  of  the  most  fundamental  of  the  instincts,  let  us 
note  a  few  of  such  pairs.  There  is  the  instinct  of  flight  ac- 
companied by  the  emotion  of  fear.  There  is  the  instinct  of 
pugnacity  accompanied  by  the  emotion  of  anger.  There 
is  the  instinct  of  curiosity  accompanied  by  the  emotion 
of  wonder.  And  so  we  might  go  on  and  name  a  long  list  of 
instincts  with  their  instinctive  emotions  or  affective  aspects. 
It  should  be  noted  in  this  connection  that  the  most  fundamental 
of  the  instincts,  those  that  have  to  do  with  the  preservation 
of  the  individual  and  the  continuation  of  the  species,  as  for 
example,  the  instincts  of  flight,  pugnacity,  parental,  and  sex, 
are  accompanied  by  the  strongest  instinctive  emotions  or  af- 
fective aspects.  It  seems  that  the  function  of  the  affective 
aspect  is  to  reinforce  the  conative  aspect  of  the  instinctive 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  9 

act,  to  make  more  certain  its  execution.  It  seems  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  affective  aspect  of  the  instincts  evolved  in 
the  history  of  the  race  through  variation  and  natural  selection 
because  it  gave  to  its  possessor  greater  chances  for  survival. 
Fear,  added  to  length  of  legs,  increases  the  possibility  of  suc- 
cessful flight  from  the  enemy;  anger,  added  to  sharpness  of 
claws  and  teeth,  increases  the  chances  of  success,  and  there- 
fore survival,  in  a  bodily  encounter  with  the  enemy.  There- 
fore, it  seems  certain  that  the  function  of  the  emotional  ele- 
ment in  the  instinctive  process  or  act  is  to  make  more  certain 
the  successful  carrying  out  of  the  instinctive  act. 

In  the  functioning  of  certain  instincts,  especially  those 
on  which  prohibitions  are  placed  by  laws  of  modern  social 
life,  this  affective  or  emotional  element  becomes  a  dangerous 
by-product  through  inhibitions  and  repressions.  The  pugna- 
cious or  fighting  instinct,  and  the  instinct  to  kill,  may  be  cited 
as  examples.  Through  the  accumulation,  or,  perhaps  better, 
the  damming  up  of  these  unused  psychic  forces  the  soul  is 
thrown  out  of  balance.  Much  unhappiness  is  thus  brought 
into  the  life  of  the  individual  and  also  into  the  lives  of  those 
about  him.  In  a  certain  sense  these  instincts  may  be  con- 
sidered vestigial,  or  at  least  becoming  so.  They  were  once 
important  in  the  preservation  of  the  life  of  their  possessor, 
but  are  gradually  losing  this  importance.  They  were  useful 
so  recently  in  race  history  that  they  still  have  strong  ten- 
dencies to  function,  especially  the  fighting  instinct.  They 
cannot,  nor  should  they,  be  got  rid  of.  They  must  be  trans- 
formed to  higher  planes  of  functioning  through  the  treatment 
of  katharsis  and  sublimation.  The  chief  means  for  this  are 
literature  and  games  of  contest,  as  well  as  hunting  and  fish- 
ing, the  school  having  to  do  chiefly  with  the  first  two  means. 

The  question  of  the  katharsis  of  the  instinctive  emotions 
is  one  of  far-reaching-  importance,  but  one  on  which,  so 
far  as  I  know,  very  little  has  been  written.  It  is  through 
literature  that  its  best  and  most  effective  work  can  be  done. 
Through  the  stimulation  of  literature  the  individual  is  able 
to  do  those  things  in  his  imagination  which  are  forbidden  him 
in  real  life.  In  this  way  the  dangerous  tendencies  function 
in  a  harmless  manner  and  psychic  equanimity  is  restored.  It 
seems  to  me  that  in  a  thorough-going  treatment  of  the  peda- 
gogy of  the  instincts,  the  question  of  the  katharsis  of  the  in- 
stinctive emotions  should  be  given  a  prominent  place. 

The  aim  of  education  should  be  to  develop  and  train  the 
child's  best  tendencies,  so  that  they  will  pass  over  into  habit. 
The  dangerous  tendencies  should  be  rendered  harmless 
through  purgation  and  sublimated  to  higher  planes  of  func- 
tioning. Thus  do  we  build  character.  The  roots  of  character 
should  strike  down  deep  into  the  great  fundamental  instints 
of  man.  This  means  that  the  foundations  for  right  character 
building  must  be  laid  in  the  early  years  of  the  child's  life. 
When  tendencies  to  react  to  objects  of  one's  environment  are 
inhibited,  there  is  a  disposition  to  fly  from  the  real  to  the  ideal 
— for  the  self  to  attempt  to  create  an  ideal  situation  whose 


10        .   INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

environment  will  allow  these  tendencies  to  lunction  normally, 
or  rather  according  to  their  bent.  The  very  soul  of  poetry 
and  of  fiction  is  the  materialization  in  literary  forms,  both 
oral  and  written,  of  this  impulse  to  fly  from  the  real  to  the 
ideal.  In  the  evolution  of  the  human  mind  it  seems  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  the  impulse  to  escape  the  real  and  to  find 
satisfaction  elsewhere  was  an  important  factor  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  imagination.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  suggests 
why  literature  is  such  an  important  factor  in  working  a 
katharsis  or  purgation  of  these  instinctive  emotions.  The 
feelings  thus  generated  form  the  primary  tissue  of  those  feel- 
ings that  make  up  what  we  call  an  interest  in  literature.  This 
process  of  katharsis  of  the  instinctive  emotions  is  a  sort  of 
psychic  effervescence  relieving  the  stress  and  strain  of  these 
pent  up  feelings. 

Play  is  the  other  realm  of  the  imagination  in  which  the 
soul  of  the  growing  child  can  freely  exercise  its  race  ten- 
dencies. This  is  the  child's  sacred  privilege  and  adults  should 
not  interfere.  The  subject  of  play  is  introduced  at  this  point 
because  I  believe  it,  like  literature,  can  be  shown  to  have  an 
educational  value,  though  perhaps  not  in  as  great  a  degree  as 
literature,  in  working  a  katharsis  of  emotions  of  certain  in- 
stincts that  have  a  tendency  to  function  in  play  activities. 
Spontaneity  is  the  most  important  element  in  the  play  ac- 
tivity. If  this  element  is  lacking  it  cannot  rightfully  be  called 
play.  If  this  theory  is  true  that  through  the  play  activity  a 
katharsis  can  be  worked  of  certain  instinctive  feelings  that 
have  a  tendency  to  function  in  play,  in  such  cases  at  least  we 
must  be  sure  of  the  element  of  spontaneity.  This  is  perhaps 
sufficient  at  this  point  to  show  that  the  question  of  katharsis 
is  inseparably  bound  up  with  the  question  of  the  genetic 
functioning  of  the  instincts  as  native  interests. 

A  study  of  the  structure  and  functions  of  the  nervous 
system  throws  much  light  on  the  fundamental  problems  of 
education.  It  helps  very  materially  in  understanding  the  in- 
nate tendencies  or  instincts  to  make  at  least  a  brief  survey  of 
some  of  the  chief  points  that  have  been  worked  out  in  recent 
years  concerning  the  nervous  system,  that  have  a  bearing  on 
education.  I  shall  give  briefly  a  few  of  the  facts  concerning 
the  nervous  system  that  are  of  special  importance  for  the 
genetic  functioning  of  the  innate  tendencies  or  instincts. 

The  work  of  education  is  not  to  increase  the  number  of 
nerve  cells  in  the  body,  for  it  has  been  pretty  well  established 
by  neurologists  that  the  number  is  fixed  sometime  before 
birth  ;  but  rather  is  it  the  work  of  education  to  develop  those 
already  created.  Each  nerve  cell  has  its  period  of  imma- 
turity;  a  period  of  rapid  growth  or  nascency;  and  lastly  a 
period  of  maturity  when  little  change  can  be  made  in  it.  It 
is  injurious  to  try  to  force  the  cell  to  function  before  its 
nascent  period  or  during  its  period  of  immaturity.  This  is 
likely  to  cause  arrested  development.  It  is  dangerous  to  over- 
stimulate  the  cell  during  its  nascent  period ;  this  may  also 
cause  arrested  development;  but  it  is  "very  essential  that  the 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  11 

nerve  centers  be  properly  stimulated  during  their  nascent 
periods.  If  the  plastic  nascent  period  is  allowed  to  pass  with- 
out the  proper  functioning  of  the  center,  then  education  has 
forever  lost  its  opportunity.  After  the  third  period,  the  period 
of  maturity  of  the  nerve  cell,  has  been  reached,  little  change 
can  be  made  in  it. 

It  has  been  pretty  well  established  that  during  the  first 
few  years  of  the  child's  life  nerve  cells  develop  much  more 
rapidly  than  they  do  later;  this  no  doubt  accounts  for  the 
child's  very  rapid  mental  development  during  those  early 
years.  He  has  learned  a  little  about  such  a  wide  range  of  ob- 
jects, we  wonder  how  he  has  come  so  far  in  so  short  a  time. 
Mental  development  is  the  correlate  of  the  development  and 
functioning  of  nerve  cells.  This  takes  place  normally  if  prop- 
erly stimulated  during  the  nascent -period  of  growth. 

It  is  generally  held  by  neurologists  that  the  order  of  de- 
velopment of  the  nerve  centers  in  the  human  nervous  system 
corresponds  in  the  main  with  the  order  of  the  evolution  of  the 
nervous  system  in  animal  life  below  man. 

The  period  of  structural  development  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem of  animals  below  man  is  comparatively  short;  hence,  the 
instincts  appear  in  close  succession  upon  each  other,  and  many 
apparently  together.  Most  of  them  are  functioning  fully 
shortly  after  birth.  Not  so  with  man.  The  period  of  struc- 
tural development  of  the  nervous  system  of  the  child  and 
adolescent  reaches  over  a  span  of  more  than  twenty  years. 
Parallel  with  this  structural  development  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem is  the  functioning  of  the  instincts  in  a  certain  order.  In 
the  evolution  of  man,  spontaneous  variation  and  natural  selec- 
tion have  built  up  an  heirarchy  of  instincts.  The  order  of  the 
functioning  of  the  instincts,  as  well  as  their  number,  is  innate. 

Psychic  growth  depends  upon  this  inner  structural  equip- 
ment, but  this  growth  cannot  take  place  without  proper  stimuli 
furnished  by  the  environment.  Not  only  in  our  lowest  activ- 
ities, but  also  in  our  highest,  our  organic  tendencies  respond 
in  an  instinctive  manner  to  the  "call  of  the  environment." 
Unless  structural  conditions  are  ripe,  the  "call  of  environment" 
will  fall,  as  it  were,  upon  deaf  ears.  The  child,  in  its  mental 
development,  follows  the  order  of  its  structural  development. 
These  structural  tendencies  have  been  evolved  and  laid  down 
as  engrams  in  the  nervous  system  during  long  years  of  race 
history.  The  individual  is  wound  up,  as  it  were,  and  is  set 
off  by  proper  stimuli.  Abrupt  changes  take  place  in  the 
stages  of  consciousness  to  correspond  to  the  abrupt  changes 
that  take  place  in  the  development  of  structural  conditions. 
This,  no  doubt,  is  the  condition  during  the  transition  periods 
so  well  known  in  the  growing  child.  These  are  periods  of 
rapid  readjustment,  not  only  in  the  nervous  system  but  also 
in  the  organs  and  glands  of  the  body  as  well. 

As  the  child  advances  in  years  and  as  the  nervous  system 
becomes  more  highly  organized,  instincts  more  and  more  com- 
plex in  nature  function.  The  social  instincts  are  an  example, 
being  among  the  last  to  be  nascent.  The  successive  stages  of 


12  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

consciousness  of  the  evolving  psyche  are  the  correlates  of  the 
inner  structural  development.  Each  stage  has  its  own  char- 
acteristic instincts.  Natural  selection  for  untold  ages  has 
been  acting  upon  spontaneous  variation  and  as  a  result  has 
built  up  in  the  nervous  system  the  structural  tendencies  which, 
acted  upon  by  proper  stimuli  from  the  environment,  cause  the 
instinctive  correlates  of  the  structural  tendencies  to  function, 
and  are  thus  translated  into  physic  forces.  These  primal 
psychic  forces  form  the  very  foundation  of  our  psychic  life, 
and  all  later  psychic  life  is  built  upon  this  instinctive  founda- 
tion as  a  superstructure.  On  the  fundamental  importance  of 
instinctive  life,  Guillet  writes  as  follows :  "While  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  an  innate  idea,  still  the  mind  of  the  child  is  not 
*  *  *  a  tabula  rasa."  It  is  creative — "a  bundle  of  instinc- 
tive tendencies  to  growth."  "This  is  the  fundamental  part 
of  man  and  conditions  the  more  conscious  part  of  man."  "In- 
stinct, not  intelligence,  still  leads  evolution."  "Intelligence  is 
continually  baffled  and  superseded,  but  instinct  displays  itself 
with  the  old  vigor  in  ever  new  forms." 

According  to  Hughlings  Jackson,  the  nervous  system 
may  be  regarded  as  made  up  of  three  levels,  the  first  or  lower 
has  its  centers  chiefly  in  the  spinal  cord ;  the  second  or  middle 
has  its  centers  chiefly  in  the  sensori-motor  areas  of  the  brain, 
and  the  third  or  higher  consists  of  the  higher  association  cen- 
ters of  the  brain.  The  Jacksonian  three-level  theory  is  highly 
suggestive,  but  may  be  considered  arbitrary.  Instead  of  three 
levels  there  are  no  doubt  many  levels,  so  that  it  is  perhaps 
better  to  refer  to  it  as  the  level  theory.  In  the  ascending 
levels  we  find  pretty  much  the  same  order  as  is  found  in  the 
evolution  of  the  nervous  system  in  the  lower  form  of  life  up 
to  man.  The  mental  life  evolving  from  the  functioning  of 
the  lowest  levels  is  the  most  stable,  and  decreases  in  stability 
as  the  scale  is  ascended,  so  that  the  parts  of  the  brain  to  de- 
velop latest  are  the  least  stable.  This  means  that  to  overtax 
these  higher  centers  is  very  dangerous.  This  should  ever  be 
borne  in  mind  by  the  teacher,  and  she  should  strive  at  all 
times  so  to  train  the  pupil  that  as  much  as  possible  will  be 
turned  over  to  the  lower  levels,  thus  making  the  work  auto- 
matic and  relieving  the  higher  conscious  centers.  This  ap- 
plies to  much  of  the  training  in  language,  spelling,  writing,  etc. 
The  child  must  be  so  trained  that  he  will  do  the  things  cor- 
rectly with  the  least  degree  of  consciousness.  This  is  truly  a 
conservation  of  mental  energy,  since  it  leaves  the  conscious 
forces  free  to  do  those  things  which  cannot  be  handed  over 
to  the  lower  levels,  and  thus  makes  possible  a  greater  degree 
of  higher  mental  growth. 

In  this  necessary  order  of  these  structural  functionings  and 
the  resulting  instinctive  tendencies,  there  are  many  tendencies 
and  resulting  interests  that  seem  to  the  adult  mind  as  useless 
to  the  child,  and  much  effort  has  been  made  by  those  not 
understanding  child  nature  to  suppress  these  tendencies  and 
to  stamp  out  these  seemingly  dangerous  interests,  which,  if 
successful,  has  resulted  in  injury  to  the  child;  because  if  the 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  13. 

theory  of  the  levels  is  correct,  then  the  tendency  for  certain 
structures  to  function  has  been  inhibited,  which  in  their  func- 
tioning made  possible  higher  neural  co-ordinations.  For  the 
higher  co-ordinations  of  neural  elements  can  take  place,  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  neural  development,  only  when  the 
lower  co-ordinations  have  first  taken  place.  It  is  nature's 
plan  to  pass  through  developmental  stages,  not  only  physically 
but  also  mentally,  and  it  is  our  business  as  pedagogs  to  study 
this  order  and  to  follow  it.  We  should  cast  to  the  void  our 
adult  standards  in  dealing  with  the  growing  child. 

In  the  life  of  every  organism  there  are  ever  two  forces  at 
work,  the  inner  tendency  to  vary  and  the  necessity  of  adjust- 
ment to  environment.  These  are  referred  to  as  spontaneous 
variation  and  natural  selection,  and  are  the  determining  prin- 
ciples in  evolution.  This  tendency  to  vary  belongs  little  to 
the  fundamental  organs,  either  physical  or  mental,  but  chiefly 
to  the  accessory  organs — those  evolved  late  in  the  history  of 
the  race.  From  this  we  have  a  right  to  infer  that,  in  the 
innate  tendencies  whose  structural  correlates  are  in  the  higher 
levels,  there  is  a  greater  tendency  to  vary  and  a  greater  degree 
of  plasticity.  And,  indeed,, we  find  this  to  be  true.  The  in- 
stincts that  function  later  in  the  child  are  so  soon  modified  by 
experience  that  many  psychologists  deny  that  they  are  in- 
stincts. 

One  of  the  most  sacred  heritages  of  the  child  is  this  ten- 
dency to  variation.  This  is  what  places  the  stamp  of  indi- 
viduality upon  him.  This  is  especially  what  makes  his  life 
a  contribution  to  the  race.  But  this  is  just  what  our  schools 
with  their  lock-step  methods,  and  curricula  based  on  adult 
standards,  and  mechanized  systems,  are  stamping  out.  One 
of  the  most  important  lessons  that  our  schools  have  to  learn 
is  discrimination — to  study  the  individual  needs  of  the  pupil. 
It  is  the  teacher's  sacred  duty  to  recognize  budding  genius 
and  to  foster  it  most  carefully.  The  hope  of  the  future  is  in 
the  child  and  the  adolescent.  The  school  must  assume  a  large 
share  of  the  responsibility.  The  first  lesson  to  be  learned  is 
to  realize  the  gravity  and  importance  of  this  sacred  trust. 

The  salvation  of  the  child  lies  in  remaining  plastic.  The 
period  of  childhood,  as  well  as  of  adolescence,  should  be  pro- 
longed. Specialization  is  the  bane  of  childhood,  as  well  as 
early  adolescence.  We  should  learn  the  lesson  from  biology 
that  over-specialization  is  fatal,  if  pushed  during  the  period 
when  the  individual  should  remain  plastic.  This  long  period 
of  plasticity  of  the  child  and  adolescent  gives  spontaneous 
variation  its  opportunity.  It  also  gives  opportunity  for  the 
innumerable  innate  tendencies  to  function  in  their  natural 
order  and  to  be  laid  do\\n  as  permanent  stratifications  in  the  life 
of  the  individual.  In  this  way  the  individual  becomes  the 
possessor  of  the  best  that  the  past  has  to  offer  the  present. 
So  to  educate  the  child  is  to  allow  him  to  drink  at  the 
fountain  of  eternal  youth. 

If,  in  the  education  of  the  child,  we  fail  to  stimulate  to 
activity  these  innate  tendencies,  in  their  dynamic  or  genetic 


14  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

order,  we  may  in  the  failure  to  call  forth  a  certain  tendency, 
make  impossible  the  functioning  of  succeeding  tendencies 
because  of  their  being  conditioned  one  upon  the  other.  As  an 
example,  the  instinct  of  heroism  may  depend  to  a  great  extent 
for  its  proper  functioning  on  the  previous  proper  functioning 
of  the  righting  instinct.  The  love  of  home  may  depend  upon 
the  proper  functioning  and  proper  katharsis  of  the  migratory 
instinct.  The  love  for,  and  proper  appreciation  of,  literature 
may,  in  part  at  least,  in  its  higher  elements  of  rhythm  and  tone 
quality,  depend  on  the  previous  proper  functioning  of  the 
rhythmic  instinct  in  its  earlier  and  cruder  forms.  The  higher 
in  the  scale  the  instinct  is,  the  more  complex  it  is,  and  the 
greater  are  its  possibilities  of  variation  and  the  greater  the 
survival  value  for  the  individual.  This  makes  possible  the 
arousing  and  establishing  of  a  many-sided  interest,  giving  to 
its  possessor  a  richer  life.  To  say  that  we  get  just  as  much 
out  of  life  as  we  bring  to  it,  is  another  way  of  saying  that  we 
get  just  as  much  out  of  life  as  we  have  responding  tendencies. 
For  the  one  whose  tendencies  do  not  respond  to  the  beauties 
of  nature,  the  sky  is  simply  the  space  above  him,  but  for  the 
poet  it  is  "full  of  light  and  of  deity."  For  Peter  Bell,  "the 
primrose  by  the  river's  brim,  a  yellow  primrose  was  to  him, 
and  it  was  nothing  more."  For  the  farmer,  it  may  be,  the 
dandelion  is  only  a  noxious  weed  to  be  got  rid  of,  but  for  the 
poet  it  is  the  "dear  common  flower  that  growest  beside  the 
way." 

Following  is  a  summary  of  part  one : 

1.  The  way  of  approach  to  the  child    is    to    be    found 
through  a  study  of  his  innate  tendencies  functioning  as  native 
interests. 

2.  The  affective  or   emotional  aspect  that   attends   the 
functioning  of  an  instinctive  or  innate  tendency  is  the  basis 
of  the  interest  in  the  object,  thus  stimulating  this  reaction. 

3.  To  attempt  to  force  the  child  to  learn  that  for  which 
he  has  no  corresponding  tendencies  is  to  force  him  into  a 
condition  of  divided  attention,  let  the  teacher  try  as  she  will 
to  make  the  thing  interesting. 

4.  This  thesis  regards  instincts  as  "functional  correla- 
tives of  structure"  or  "responses  to  stimuli   determined  by 
congenital  structure."     The  first  is  from  James  and  the  second 
from  Boodin. 

5.  Instincts  that  appear  later  on  in  the  child's  develop- 
ment are  either  of  the  deferred  type  or  are  specialized  forms  of 
some  general  tendency. 

6.  Too  much  thoroughness,  as  well  as  over-specializa- 
tion, are  both  to  be  avoided  in  the  education  of  the  child  and 
adolescent.     Such  a  procedure  causes  arrested  development ; 
it  tends  to  destroy  the  plasticity  of  childhood  and  adolescence 
and  thus  to  shorten  their  period  of  growth ;  thus  education 
defeats  its  own  purpose  in  this  failure  to  lay  a  broad  founda- 
tion and  to  establish  a  many-sided  interest. 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  15 

7.  There  are  instinctive  feelings  that,  through  inhibitions 
and  repressions,  accumulate  as  a  sort  of  dangerous  by-product 
which  must  be  eliminated  by  purgation  or  katharsis.     Also 
vestigial  tendencies,  as  well  as  tendencies  exhibited  in  play, 
may  be  allowed  to  function,  in  a  harmless  way,  through  liter- 
ature and  play,  both  of  which  are  largely  in  the  realm  of  the 
imagination. 

8.  Natural  selection,  acting  upon  spontaneous  variation 
for  untold  ages  in  the  race,  has  built  up  in  the  nervous  sys- 
tem the  structural  tendencies  which,  acted  upon  by  stimuli 
from  the  environment,   cause  the  instinctive   correlatives  of 
these  structural  tendencies  to  function  and  are    thus    trans- 
formed into  psychic  forces.     These  form  the  "primary  tissue" 
of  mental  life. 

9.  The   structural   tendencies  .of  the   lower   levels   give 
rise  to  innate  tendencies  that  are  more  stable,  but  less  variable, 
than  those  of  the  higher  levels.     Those  of  the  lower  levels  are 
the  fundamental,  and  those  of  the  higher  the  accessory.     The 
latter  are  more  plastic  but  are  less  stable  than  those  of  the 
lower  levels. 

10.  The   degree   of   education,   or   stage   of   culture,    at 
whatever   period  of  life,   is   measured   by   the    number    and 
variety  of  permanent  tendencies  that  have  been  established 
in  the  individual  through  his  reactions  to  his  environment. 

PART  II. 

Part  two  will  be  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  the  prin- 
cipal instincts  or  innate  tendencies,  taken  up  and  considered 
separately,  though  their  interrelations  and  interactions  upon 
one  another  will  be  constantly  noted. 

Instinct  of  Flight  (fear). — In  the  evolution  of  the  race  the 
instinct  of  flight,  with  its  accompanying  emotion  of  fear,  has 
had  great  survival  value.  In  the  lower  animals  the  instinct 
of  flight  is  accompanied  by  the  impulse  to  run  to  cover  and  to 
seek  safety  in  concealment.  This  impulse  appears  early  in 
the  child ;  indeed,  as  soon  as  he  begins  to  run  about.  The 
child  of  four  or  five  may  be  frightened  by  the  product  of  his 
own  fancies,  though  he  knows  full  well  that  the  object  of  his 
fright  is  a  pet  or  even  a  play  fellow  or  a  member  of  his  own 
family.  The  unfamiliar  is  ever  a  source  of  fear.  The  imagi- 
nation often  runs  riot  in  magnifying  those  objects  or  proper- 
ties of  objects  which  the  mind  does  not  yet  comprehend. 
Fear,  if  intense,  takes  complete  control  of  the  self  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  all  other  mental  processes.  A  proper  amount  of 
fear  is  a  wholesome  corrective,  making  for  moral  good. 

Fear  is  an  element  in  all  religious  tendencies.  It  is  an 
element  in  the  feelings  of  awe  and  reverence,  which  are  in 
reality  higher  forms  of  fear.  The  deep  and  gloomy  forest,  the 
dark  night,  the  thundef  and  lightning  of  the  heavens — all 
these  inspired  in  primitive  man  feelings  of  awe  and  reverence 
which  were  at  the  very  basis  of  the  evolution  of  his  religious 


16  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

nature.  These  over-awing  and  fear-producing  phenomena 
have  left  their  indelible  stamp  on  the  soul  of  man.  Through 
the  psychic  rudiments  of  fear,  which  tend  to  function  in  the 
life  of  the  child,  we  find  our  way  of  approach  in  teaching 
certain  phases  of  literature  and  nature  study.  Especially 
through  literature  these  psychic  rudiments  of  fear  are  stimu- 
lated to  function  and  in  this  manner  a  katharsis  is  brought 
about,  thus  raising  these  tendencies  to  higher  planes  of  func- 
tioning; or,  perhaps,  these  psychic  rudiments  of  fear,  through 
this  manner  of  functioning,  fade  out,  according  to  Aristotle, 
and  give  place  to  higher  and  normally  succeeding  forms  of 
these  tendencies.  If  these  crass  tendencies  are  arrested  on  a 
low  plane  of  development,  we  have  the  coward,  the  vacillating 
individual,  or  the  neurotic  whose  life  is  ever  threatened  by 
air-drawn  daggers  of  the  mind. 

Here,  as  everywhere,  let  us  emphasize  the  principle  that 
these  psychic  rudiments,  though  they  may  be  mere  echoes  of 
tendencies,  important  in  a  remote  past  and  now  apparently  of 
little  use,  are  not  to  be  stamped  out,  but  are  to  be  stimulated 
to  a  certain  degree  of  activity,  allowed  to  fade  out  or  through 
this  process  of  stimulation  are  raised  to  high  planes  of  func- 
tioning. This  can  be  done  through  literature,  nature  study, 
and  play. 

To  deal  properly  with  rudimentary  psychic  tendencies, 
of  which  fear  is  one  of  the  most  important,  is  one  of  the  most 
difficult  problems  of  pedagogy.  These  tendencies,  if  not 
properly  dealt  with,  tend  to  become  morbid,  just  as  rudimen- 
tary organs  in  the  human  body  tend  to  become  diseased. 

Fear  is  strongest  in  the  child  at  about  three  or  four  years 
of  age.  This  is  due  in  part,  perhaps,  to  the  fact  that  his  imagi- 
nation is  very  active  and  his  judgment  immature.  The  child 
experiences  many  fears  in  the  dark,  due,  no  doubt,  to  the  fact 
that  his  senses  cannot  contradict  what  his  imagination  con- 
jures up.  This  does  not  argue  against  the  instinctive  nature 
of  fear.  Fear  easily  tends  to  become  morbid  in  children.  They 
should  be  guarded  against  sudden  frights.  While  fear  is  one 
of  nature's  correctives  and  has  much  survival  value,  when 
functioning  normally,  yet  it  should  never  be  used  as  a  moral 
corrective  by  parents  and  teachers.  Children  should  never  be 
frightened  into  being  good.  Because  of  its  effectiveness  in 
getting  immediate  results,  it  has  been  used  very  much  in  the 
past,  to  the  hurt  of  the  child. 

If  we  should  eliminate  all  fear  from  the  human  soul,  much 
of  the  best  in  life  would  be  lost.  The  child  should  be  taught 
to  fear  aright.  Too  much  fear  leads  to  timidity  and  cowardice. 
A  wholesome  amount  of  fear  tends  to  make  the  child  cautious 
and  prudent. 

In  varying  degrees,  fear  is  a  universal  instinct  in  the  lower  animals 
as  well  as  in  man.  One  knows  how  easily  a  horse  is  frightened  at  a 
sudden  noise  or  strange  object.  We  have  all  watched  the  actions  of 
the  timorous  mouse.  Young  chickens,  without  previous  experience 
with  such  a  danger,  crouch  or  run  to  cover  on  the  appearance  of  a 
hawk  or  other  bird  of  prey. 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  17 

Miss  Holbrook  in  her  study,  "Fear  in  Childhood"  (Barnes'  Studies 
in  Education,  Vol.  II.,  p.  18),  found  that  "fear  in  early  childhood  is 
most  often  a  vague  haunting  terror  of  the  dark,  of  awful  shapes,  of 
'something  I  know  not  what'."  "Strangely  enough,  fear  of  the  super- 
natural appears  only  half  as  often  as  fear  of  the  real  world  of  thunder 
and  shadow  and  dark,  though  without  doubt  the  element  of  the  super- 
known  is  a  powerful  one  in  a  child's  notion  of  the  phenomena  we 
regard  as  purely  natural  and  law-abiding."  She  found  that  death  and 
hell  and  ghosts  figured  very  slightly  in  the  child's  fears.  Dark  was 
feared  most,  monsters  came  next  in  order.  She  found  in  her  returns 
that  there  is  a  certain  fascination  in  fear.  Also  that  fear  has  a  sort 
of  paralyzing  effect.  She  concludes  as  follows:  "Taken  altogether, 
the  conception  of  childish  fear  which  evolves  from  this  study  is  that 
of  an  unreasoning  state  of  helplessness,  induced  through  the  undiffer- 
entiated  senses  by  a  consciousness  of  the  Great  Unknown,  generally 
associated  with  insufficient  and  fragmentary  knowledge  of  the  objec- 
tive world.  To  say  this  is  to  say  fear  is  ignorance,  and  the  appropriate 
remedy  suggests  itself  readily.  Turn  on  the  searchlight  of  exact  in- 
formation and  objective  fact,  and  exorcise  the  demon  with  the  modern 
spirit  of  natural  science  and  manual  training." 

Instinct  of  Pugnacity  (anger). — When  the  functioning  of 
any  impulse  is  inhibited,  an  innate  tendency  or  instinct  is 
aroused  called  pugnacity,  attended  by  the  affective  aspect 
called  anger.  Owing  to  its  survival  value  in  the  history  of 
the  race,  it  is  one  of  the  very  strongest  of  the  impulses.  And 
because  it  is  conditioned  by  the  functioning  of  other  instincts, 
it  is  very  common  and  very  frequent  in  its  appearance.  Espe- 
cially is  this  true  in  the  life  of  the  child,  but  as  his  life  grows 
richer  in  experience  he  learns  to  long-circuit  these  impulses. 
As  these  impulses  become  sublimated  they  are  transformed 
into  energy,  which  helps  very  materially  in  the  functioning  of 
other  tendencies.  The  instinct  of  pugnacity  is  not  to  be 
stamped  out,  else  we  have  the  coward ;  but  is  to  be  sublimated 
into  higher  forms.  In  this  way  we  develop  the  child  in  such 
a  way  as  to  transform  him  into  an  adult  of  grit,  and  deter- 
mination, and  courage — the  man  of  character. 

In  this  process  of  inhibition  and  repression,  many  dan- 
gerous by-products  are  formed  which  become  a  canker  in  the 
life  of  the  individual.  This  must  be  eliminated  through 
expurgation  or  katharsis.  This  may  be  done  chiefly  through 
literature,  but  also  through  contests  and  games. 

Fear  tends  to  inhibit  the  other  impulses,  while  it  is 
through  the  inhibition  of  the  Other  impulses  that  anger  has  its 
rise,  and  when  sublimated  tends  to  reinforce  them.  It  is  the 
very  same  force  aroused  which  appears  in  the  child  as  anger, 
which,  later,  when  obstacles  are  met,  helps  to  overcome  them. 

In  dealing  with  the  instinct  of  pugnacity,  we  should  not 
seek  how  best  to  stamp  it  out,  for  this  would  convert  the  in- 
dividual into  a  craven  wretch,  but  we  should  seek  rather  to 
transform  this  mighty  psychic  force  into  forms  of  energy  that 
will  make  for  force  of  character. 

The  question  as  to  whether  boys  should  fight  is  one  for 
•the  boys  to  settle,  rather  than  parents  or  schools.  Usually  such 
matters  will  adjust  themselves.  The  best  corrective  for  the 
boy  who  has  this  tendency  in  superabundance  is  to  have  jus- 
tice meted  out  at  the  hands  of  some  other  boy.  It  is  a  ten- 


18  INSTINCT   AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

dency  that  needs  no  encouragement,  unless  it  be  in  the  boy 
who  is  abnormally  pacific  and  is  thereby  disposed  to  let  other 
boys  impose  on  him.  He  should,  by  all  means,  be  taught  to 
defend  himself. 

Pugnacious  tendencies  should  be  transformed  to  a  great 
degree  into  tendencies  of  friendly  rivalry.  Properly  trans- 
formed, these  pugnacious  tendencies  can  be  made  to  do  much 
of  the  world's  work. 

Pugnacity,  on  the  whole,  is  not  growing  weaker,  but  is 
taking  on  different  forms.  Its  dynamic  center  is  passing  from 
the  individual  to  the  group.  It  appears  wherever  the  impulse 
to  act  is  thwarted,  in  whatever  channel,  whether  of  the  indi- 
vidual or  the  group. 

Though  the  instinct  of  pugnacity  has  led  to  many  useless 
and  destructive  wars  between  tribes  and  nations,  and  also 
between  smaller  groups,  and  even  individuals,  yet  it  has  been 
a  most  important  factor  in  the  evolution  of  men  and  nations 
to  higher  planes  of  civic  and  social  development. 

Out  of  these  contests  there  have  come  higher  moral  and 
civic  standards.  In  conjunction  with  the  instinct  of  pugnacity 
there  were  other  innate  tendencies  at  work,  with  their  general 
upward  tendency.  A  thwarting  of  these  tendencies  would 
bring  on  the  contest. 

Jealousy  is  a  form  of  anger  in  which  the  idea  of  owner- 
ship is  involved  in  connection  with  the  property  instinct  or 
the  sex  instinct.  In  the  evolution  of  the  race  through  con- 
tests brought  on  by  jealousy,  men  were  disciplined  to  a  higher 
and  more  effective  control.  As  in  the  race,  so  in  the  child ; 
this  tendency  is  not  to  be  stamped  out,  but  is  to  be  controlled 
and  raised  to  a  higher  mode  of  functioning.  It  lends  strength 
to  self-assertion  and  hence  to  self-respect.  When  it  is  ex- 
tended to  larger  and  larger  groups,  it  tends  to  pass  over  into 
altruism. 

The  question  for  pedagogy  is  how  to  turn  anger  and  its 
allied  forms  of  jealousy,  revenge,  hatred,  etc.,  along  higher 
channels  of  expression,  because  the  negative  method  of  re- 
pression is  in  most  cases  harmful.  It  is  a  question  of  drafting 
them  off  along  other  channels  and  utilizing  them  as  educative 
forces. 


Gross,  in  his  Play  of  Animals,  has  shown  that  this  tendency  to 
exhibit  the  instinct  of  pugnacity  in  their  play  activities  is  very  com- 
mon among  the  lower  animals,  as  among  dogs,  cats,  bears,  raccoons, 
etc.  The  fighting  instinct  is  so  common  in  the  lower  animals  as  to 
be  familiar  to  everyone.  Ordahl,  in  his  study  of  rivalry  among  the 
lower  animals,  cites  many  instances.  Dr.  Hall,  in  his  study  of  anger, 
notes  that  it  is  exhibited  in  the  child  in  such  forms  as  screaming, 
stiffening,  holding  the  breath,  scratching  themselves,  kicking,  sobbing, 
etc.  He  notes  that  age  brings  many  changes  in  the  manifestations  of 
anger,  largely  through  repressions  and  control.  Impudence  may  be- 
come sarcasm;  instead  of  fighting  with  the  fists,  one  fights  with  the 
tongue.  "While  peevishness  and  irritability  are  less,  remorse,  reason, 
reflection,  toleration  of  offences  become  dominant."  Dr.  Smith,  in 
her  study  of  "Obstinacy  and  Obedience"  (Fed.  Sem.,  March,  1905). 
found  that  anger  often  accompanies  obstinacy.  She  found  that  this 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  19 

condition  is  often  caused  by  malnutrition  and  hence  must  have  physical 
treatment.  She  found,  too,  that  fatigue  is  a  frequent  cause.  In  the 
treatment  of  the  child,  she  concludes  that  there  is  danger  of  too  many 
rules  and  restrictions  and  that  more  freedom  is  often  the  best  remedy. 
It  is  best  to  ignore  the  child  at  such  times,  for  this  tends  "to  diminish 
the  mental  and  physical  tension  which  are  characteristic  of  obstinacy." 
Burk  has  shown  that  the  fighting  instinct  or  instinct  of  pugnacity 
is  manifested  in  the  tendency  to  tease  and  bully.  These  tendencies, 
he  thinks,  are  due  to  "broken  neurological  fragments,  which  are  parts 
of  old  chains  of  activity  involved  in  the  pursuit,  combat,  capture,  tor- 
ture, and  killing  of  men  and  enemies." 

Self-regarding  Instinct — Positive  and  Negative. — The  self- 
regarding  instinct  is  at  root  a  social  instinct.  The  positive 
aspect  is  seen  to  a  great  degree  in  the  tendencies  that  function 
as  demands  for  recognition  and  sympathy.  The  negative  as- 
pect is  seen  in  the  tendencies  of  the  individual,  in  part  to  ad- 
just himself  to  the  demands  of.  others,  and  in  part  is  due  to  a 
sense  of  inferiority,  real  or  imagined.  The  negative  aspect  of 
the  self-regarding  instinct  manifests  itself  in  such  forms  as 
bashfulness,  modesty,  reverence,  and  docility. 

This  instinct  begins  to  function  very  early  in  the  child's 
life — even  before  it  is  two  years  old.  As  self-consciousness 
develops,  it  appears  in  boys  in  the  form  of  boasting  and 
swaggering,  taking  dares,  doing  stunts,  etc.  In  girls,  it  ap- 
pears in  the  form  of  boasting  and  vanity. 

While  this  instinct  seems  to  exhibit  much  that  is  egoistic, 
it  is  in  the  main  a  social  instinct.  Its  proper  stimulation  to 
activity  depends  on  the  presence  of  spectators.  There  must 
be  a  sense  of  superiority,  in  some  respect,  on  the  part  of  the 
individual,  over  the  spectator,  or  at  least  an  attempt  to  so 
impress  the  spectator.  This  on  the  positive  side.  On  the 
negative  side  the  attitude  is  one  of  inferiority  in  the  forms  of 
modesty,  shame,  etc.  It  is  slightly  akin  to  fear,  but  is  a  higher 
form. 

In  response  to  the  well  known  challenge,  "You  dare  not 
do  it,"  many  a  foolhardy  act  has  been  committed  by  boys,  and 
very  often  by  girls  as  well.  This  is  an  abnormal  condition, 
and  by  proper  sublimation  and  transformation  can  be  made 
over  into  true  courage.  The  right  kind  of  literature  can  do 
much  here.  The  boy  and  girl  must  grow  into  a  knowledge 
of  what  true  courage  is. 

The  failure  to  direct  this  tendency  in  right  channels  is  a 
failure  in  moral  training.  If  not  properly  directed,  these  ten- 
dencies often  become  criminal. 

Teachers  and  parents  too  often  make  the  mistake  in  lay- 
ing down  rules  in  such  a  way  as  to  antagonize  the  child  and 
to  call  forth  this  tendency  in  its  abnormal  and  perverted  as- 
pects. As  few  rules  as  possible,  in  both  school  and  home. 

The  functioning  of  the  self-regarding  instinct  is  affected 
by  clothing  and  self  adornment,  making  the  instinct  either 
positive  or  negative.  Clothes  make  the  child  experience  a 
feeling  of  superiority  or  inferiority  toward  his  fellows.  One's 
personality  seems  to  be  extended  to  his  clothing  and  personal 
adornments. 


20  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

Girls  are  more  boastful  of  their  personal  attractions — 
their  native  endowments  as  well  as  their  dress.  Boys  are 
more  concerned  about  their  ability  to  excel  in  physical  en- 
dowments,— in  becoming  leaders.  These  conditions,  in  both 
boys  and  girls,  may  become  abnormal  and  be  arrested  on  a 
low  plane  of  development.  These  tendencies  usually  do  not 
need  much  encouragement. 

In  these  bragging  and  boastful  attitudes,  the  child  is  apt 
to  play  the  false  role  more  or  less.  These  tendencies  must  be 
directed  along  right  channels  or  these  undesirable  false  atti- 
tudes will  pass  over  into  habit.  Literature  can  do  much  to 
rectify  these  errors.  Athletics  and  manual  training  should  do 
much,  for  the  reason  that  the  individual  is  measured  in  the 
presence  of  his  fellows  as  to  his  abilities  and  accomplishments ; 
and  he  will  thus  grow  into  a -correct  knowledge  of  his  true 
powers. 

Abnormal  self-consciousness  is  an  undesirable  form  of 
this  negative  self  regarding  instinct.  One  of  the  chief  evils 
of  this  abnormal  condition  is  that  it  tends  to  inhibit  freedom 
of  movement  in  speech  and  other  bodily  movements,  as  well 
as  in  normal  continuity  of  thought.  It  is  an  enemy  to  spon- 
taneity. It  is  the  opposite  extreme  of  over-boldness.  Both 
extremes  are  to  be  avoided. 

Blame  and  ridicule  are,  to  sensitive  natures,  fearful  things. 
Praise  used  judiciously  is  a  mighty  force  in  the  hands  of  a 
wise  teacher. 

It  is  a  question  whether  over-timid  and  nervous  children 
should  be  forced  to  appear  on  public  occasions  to  recite  pieces 
or  take  part  in  plays.  The  instinct  of  curiosity  is  able,  usually, 
to  counteraqt  the  negative  self-feeling  of  bashfulness  and 
timidity. 

In  young  children  this  instinct  of  shyness  and  bashfulness 
manifests  itself  in  crying,  hiding,  and  covering  the  face.  A 
little  later  the  child  avoids  strangers  by  running  away.  Dur- 
ing adolescence,  especially  during  the  early  period,  a  tendency 
of  shyness  and  bashfulness  shows  itself  in  the  impulse  for 
the  individual  to  avoid  members  of  the  opposite  sex,  especially 
those  about  the  same  age.  This  tendency  is  stronger  in  boys 
than  it  is  in  girls. 

One  of  the  very  strong  factors  in  determining  and  mold- 
ing one's  conduct  is  the  regard  in  which  one  is  held  by  his 
fellows.  This  is  especially  strong  when  one  is  in  an  attitude 
of  negative  self-feeling  toward  his  fellows. 

During  the  period  of  childhood  the  individual  does  not 
show  much  of  a  sense  of  shame,  which  is  a  phase  of  self-abase- 
ment. 

To  attempt  to  force  the  functioning  of  this  instinct  is  apt 
to  cause  arrested  development  in  the  form  of  prudishness  or 
moral  morbidity.  Morals  should,  at  this  stage,  be  taught  in- 
directly through  the  story ;  and  also  by  example. 

Watching  a  child  often  accentuates  his  condition  of  self- 
feeling  or  self-consciousness.  The  teacher  should  acquire  the 
art  of  knowing  what  the  child  is  doing,  without  seeming  to 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  21 

watch  him.  This  refers  especially  to  timid  children.  One  of 
the  gravest  errors  committed  by  teachers  is  that,  in  their  treat- 
ment of  children  they  are  continually  inhibiting  their  spon- 
taneous activities. 

During  the  period  in  which  the  dramatic  aspect  or  instinct 
of  imitation  is  strong,  the  child,  in  his  play  activities,  delights 
to  assume  the  role  of  another  person,  either  in  name  or  dress, 
or  in  both.  This  is  perfectly  normal  and  wholesome  as  long 
as  the  play  instinct  is  active,  but  when  it  is  taken  into  real 
life  it  then  becomes  a  false  attitude  and  becomes  positively 
dangerous.  As  long  as  it  acts  in  the  realm  of  the  play  impulse 
it  assists  very  materially  in  extending  the  child's  personality 
and  also  enlarging  it.  Spontaneous  variation  and  natural 
selection  are  at  work.  In  this  way  the  best  tendencies  of  the 
child  predominate  and  become  .permanent  elements  in  his 
character. 

As  the  individual  grows  there  is  a  general  expansion  of 
his  whole  nature.  New  tendencies  are  constantly  coming  into 
function.  As  a  result  there  is  a  constant  swinging  to  and  fro 
between  the  two  extremes  of  the  positive  self-feelings  and  the 
negative  self-feelings,  due,  on  the  one  hand,  to  this  upward 
and  outward  push,  and  on  the  other  to  the  hesitation  and  fear 
of  trying  the  unknown ;  but  through  the  exercise  of  these 
varied  tendencies,  the  self,  through  its  reactions  to  its  environ- 
ment, chooses  out  those  tendencies  that  will  best  adapt  it  to 
its  environment. 

The  true  object  in  educating  the  self-regarding  tendencies 
should  be  to  keep  the  balance  true  between  them,  otherwise 
we  have  an  abnormal  product. 

The  self-regarding  instinct,  in  both  its  positive  and  negative  as- 
pects, is  seen  in  many  of  the  lower  animals.  This  in  the  broader 
sense  of  the  term  as  used  by  McDougall,  and  not  to  include  self-con- 
sciousness. When  a  large  dog  meets  a  small  dog,  we  often  see  both 
aspects  of  this  instinct  exhibited — the  positive  in  the  dignified  and 
seemingly  superior  behavior  of  the  large  dog;  the  negative  in  the  meek 
and  seemingly  submissive  behavior  of  the  small  dog.  Again  we  see 
the  positive  aspect  displayed  in  many  animals,  especially  at  mating 
time.  At  this  time  they  show  off  their  charms  to  the  best  advantage. 
We  see  the  negative  aspect  in  the  behavior  of  the  dog  toward  his 
master. 

Drs.  Hall  and  Smith  made  a  study  of  the  self-regarding  instinct 
under  the  heading,  "Showing  Off  and  Bashfulness."  From  their  re- 
turns they  found  results  as  follows:  ''Love  of  praise  and  fear  of 
reproach  are  both  powerful  incentives  in  the  childish  mind  and  though 
an  excess  of  either  may  prove  a  dwarfing  or  preventing  influence,  they 
are  natural  stimuli  for  growth."  They  found  that  consciousness  of 
clothes,  especially  in  girls,  developed  very  early.  Girls  tend  to  be- 
come vain.  Affectations  in  speech  appear  early,  due  largely  to  imita- 
tion of  their  elders.  It  was  found  that  there  was  a  noticeable  dif- 
ference between  boys  and  girls  in  showing  off  along  the  lines  of  motor 
activities.  Boys  delight  in  feats  of  physical  strength  and  skill.  There 
is  more  the  element  of  affectation  in  what  the  girl  does.  They  found 
no  specific  differences  between  boys  and  girls  in  the  matter  of  taking 
dares.  Quite  common.  Due  largely  to  wrong  standards  of  moral 
courage.  Boys  brag  most  of  what  they  can  do;  girls  of  what  they 
possess.  Bashfulness  more  common  in  girls  than  in  boys.  This 
condition  reversed  toward  adolescence.  Blushing  more  frequent  in 
girls;  awkwardness  and  aphasic  manifestations  more  frequent  in  boys. 


22  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

Instinct  of  Rivalry. — Rivalry  has  a  most  important  place  in 
education.  It  is  a  social  leveler.  It  fosters  democratic  prin- 
ciples. It  compels  the  individual  to  play  his  true  role.  It 
makes  for  honesty.  In  the  form  of  competition  it  is  diametri- 
cally opposed  to  the  principle  of  special  privileges  as  is  seen 
in  commerce  and  politics,  as  well  as  in  any  other  field  of  hu- 
man action.  If  our  schools  would  follow  the  child's  innate 
tendencies,  which  properly  developed  make  for  the  best  train- 
ing for  life,  they  must  not  neglect  the  instinctive  tendency  of 
rivalry. 

Rivalry  or  emulation  tends  to  supplant  pugnacity,  both  in 
the  individual  and  in  the  group.  In  fact,  it  may  be  considered 
a  modified  form  of  pugnacity  as  it  is  also  a  modified  form  of 
self-assertion,  or  the  positive  self-regarding  instinct.  With 
reference  to  overstimulation,  caution  should  be  exercised  with 
the  child,  but  with  the  juvenile  it  is  different.  The  individual 
at  this  age  is  capable  of  much  greater  effort.  Struggle  and 
competition  seem  to  be  the  very  life~of  the  juvenile. 

Though  rivalry  is  a  social  instinct,  it  acts,  to  a  great  extent, 
in  opposition  to  gregariousness  and  tends  to  put  a  check  on 
the  evil  tendencies  of  gregariousness,  just  as  gregariousness, 
on  the  other  hand,  tends  to  check  the  evil  tendencies  of  rivalry. 
Properly  counterpoised,  they  tend  to  keep  the  moral  balance 
true. 

Ordahl  maintains  that  rivalry  should  be  confined  chiefly  to 
the  field  of  action.  "Elsewhere,"  he  says,  "it  should  be  looked 
upon  with  suspicion." 

Rivalry  in  moderation  is  a  wholesome  stimulus  to  efficient 
work  and  progress  in  school,  but  overdone,  it  leads  to  over- 
stimulation  and  inhibitions  that  retard  normal  progress,  as  has 
been  shown  by  experiment. 

Many  educators  would  substitute  self-rivalry  for  this 
rivalry  with  others.  In  self-rivalry  the  pupil  measures  his 
present  efforts  with  his  past  efforts. 

It  would  seem  that  each  is  complementary  to  the  other, 
and  therefore  one  cannot  be  substituted  for  the  other. 

Bound  up  with  this  question  of  rivalry  is  the  question  of 
prizes  and  rewards.  There  are  those  who  would  do  away  with 
the  system  of  prizes  and  rewards,  but,  without  question,  they 
have  their  place.  It  will  depend  on  the  age  of  the  pupil.  They 
appeal  especially  to  the  younger  pupils. 

With  reference  to  the  "genetic  sequence  in  the  develop- 
ment" of  rivalry,  Ordahl  has  the  following  to  say :  "The  first 
phenomenon  that  can  be  regarded  as  rivalry  is  the  struggle  for 
food.  The  child  gradually  reacts  more  definitely  to  comfort 
and  discomfort  stimuli;  the  emotional  expressions  which  ac- 
company such  reactions  are  indicative  of  jealousy.  Closely 
following  this  development  is  that  of  contrary  suggestion, 
i.  e.,  the  child  opposes  all  suggestion,  whether  pleasant  or  un- 
pleasant. Another  role  following  is  that  in  which  the  sense 
of  self  comes  out  strongly.  The  child  is  ambitious  for  display 
of  his  personal  qualities.  This  leads  to  a  general  comparison 
with  his  fellows,  and  together  with  added  interests  in  external 
objects,  develops  an  increased  interest  in  competition.  With 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  23 

the  beginning  of  adolescence  we  have  incipient  the  final  stage 
in  the  development  of  rivalry,  viz.,  a  large  tendency  to  struggle 
in  the  whole  environment  for  superiority.  This  struggle  may 
be  of  a  low  or  high  order  of  morality,  but  mere  supremacy  is 
not  its  chief  characteristic.  In  the  latter,  the  struggle  is  char- 
acterized by  a  desire  to  down  a  companion,  in  the  former  the 
individual  wishes  to  demonstrate  the  superiority  of  his  attri- 
butes and  qualities  as  greater  or  larger  than  those  of  any 
others ;  it  is  not  mere  mastery.  And  the  element  of  self-emula- 
tion is  probably  present  in  all  striving." 

Emulation  may.be  considered  a  higher  form  of  rivalry.  It 
is  the  impulse  to  excel,  to  lord  it  over  others,  or  to  be  a  leader. 

Rivalry  had  its  origin,  no  doubt,  in  the  struggle  for  food 
and  shelter,  and  in  the  struggle  to  obtain  or  win  a  mate.  This 
we  may  observe  in  the  lower  animals.  It  is  seen  to  be  most 
active  in  the  gregarious  animals.  In  the  struggle  for  food,  the 
instinct  is  chiefly  defensive,  while  in  the  struggle  for  a  mate 
it  is  usually  offensive. 

A  difference  between  rivalry  and  pugnacity  is  that  in  ri- 
valry the  contest  usually  ends  when  supremacy  is  attained, 
while  in  pugnacity  the  object  is  usually  either  thoroughly  to 
subdue  the  opponent  or  to  destroy  him.  This  is  true  among 
the  lower  animals  and  was  no  doubt  true  of  primitive  man. 

The  self-regarding  instinct,  in  its  self-assertive  or  positive 
aspect,  passes  over  into  a  special  form  of  instinct  called  rivalry 
for  leadership.  The  instinct  for  leadership  is  clearly  displayed 
among  the  higher  animals.  It  differs  from  food  and  sex  ri- 
valry in  that  its  object  is  for  supremacy,  apparently  for  its 
own  sake.  This  is  especially  true  of  gregarious  animals  of 
the  higher  orders. 

Ordahl  thinks  that  jealousy  is  a  feeling  caused  by  the  in- 
hibition of  the  instinctive  tendency  or  impulse  when  one's  place 
of  supremacy  is  invaded.  It  is  evident  that  it  is  related  to  this 
aspect  of  the  instinct  of  rivalry.  It  is  closely  related  to  the 
instinct  of  pugnacity  as  expressed  in  the  accompanying  emo- 
tion of  anger.  A  tendency  is  interfered  with.  Jealousy  is  a 
form  of  anger. 

During  childhood  the  instinct  of  rivalry  has  its  basis  in 
the  egoistic  tendencies,  but  with  the  ushering  in  of  adolescence 
the  tendency  is  not  so  much  one  of  personal  supremacy  or 
aggrandizement  as  it  is  to  know  one's  place  in  his  social  envi- 
ronment. And,  too,  with  the  ushering  in  of  adolescence  there 
appear  many  new  tendencies  whose  function  seems  to  be  to 
expand  and  enlarge  the  soul.  Some  of  these  take  on  the  form 
of  reveries  and  day-dreams.  In  these  the  leadership  aspect  of 
rivalry  plays  an  important  role.  In  these  dreams  and  reveries 
the  adolescent  sees  himself  victorious  in  life's  contests  and 
himself  become  a  great  leader,  not  by  might  but  because  of 
his  superior  powers  of  leadership.  Through  these  tendencies 
he  builds  for  himself  ideals  which  have  much  to  do  in  building 
character,  through  the  activity  to  which  they  lead. 

Ordahl  found,  in  his  study  of  rivalry,  that  it  is  a  very  common 
instinct  in  the  lower  animals.  They  display  this  tendency  toward 


24  INSTINCT   AS  RELATED   TO   EDUCATION. 

members  of  their  own  kind.  At  the  trough  the  leader  drinks  first; 
when  fed,  the  horse  throws  out  warning  gestures,  observes  Ordahl. 
He  found  a  very  common  kind  to  be  that  for  leadership,  especially 
among  domestic  and  wild  animals  that  are  gregarious.  He  concludes 
that  food  and  sex  are  at  the  basis  of  this  instinct  in  the  lower  animals. 

With  reference  to  this  instinct  in  the  child,  he  found  that  in  its 
earlier  years  badges  and  visible  rewards  appealed  to  it;  that  during 
these  early  years  there  is  danger  of  over-stimulation,  but  that  the 
pre-adolescent  is  capable  of  greater  effort  and  hence  not  so  much 
danger  from  over-stimulation.  He  urges  that  the  adolescent  be  given 
material  "dealing  with  great  events  and  achievements  of  worthy 
individuals"  to  feed  the  impulse  of  superiority  and  the  hunger  for 
greatness. 

From  the  data  examined,  Ordahl  concludes  that  there  is  a  genetic 
sequence  in  the  development.  First  is  the  struggle  for  food.  Closely 
following  is  that  of  contrary  suggestion.  A  little  later  the  sense  of 
self  becomes  prominent1 — an  ambition  to  display  personal  qualities. 
Then  follows  a  comparison  with  his  fellows,  which  evolves  into  a 
spirit  of  competition.  And  finally  in  the  adolescent  is  a  tendency  to 
struggle  for  mastery  in  many  directions — in  the  whole  environment, 
not  necessarily  to  down  a  companion,  as  was  the  earlier  tendency, 
but  to  show  himself  superior  to  all  others,  with  a  large  degree  of  self- 
emulation. 

Instinct  of  Imitation. — The  innate  tendency  that  has  most 
to  do  with  adapting  the  child  to  his  environment  is  the  instinct 
of  imitation.  It  is  through  this  instinct,  chiefly,  that  he  grad- 
ually may  come  into  the  rich  heritage  of  the  culture  of  the 
past.  The  imitative  act  when  first  performed  by  the  child,  es- 
pecially in  its  early  years,  may  have  little  or  no  mental  content, 
but  in  the  performance  of  the  act,  motor  imagery  is  built  up 
and  thus  the  act  gets  mental  content. 

The  tendency  to  imitate  begins  to  function  ver}^  early  in 
life — as  early  at  least  as  the  second  six  months  of  the  child's 

life.  Its  earliest  forms  are  low  in  the  scale  of  mental  reactions. 
The  term  reflex  could  rightly  be  applied  to  many  of  these  re- 
actions. 

Though  the  child's  reactions  to  his  environment  in  the 
mimetic  sense  are  at  first  largely  reflex  and  spontaneous,  they 
gradually  come  to  have  mental  content.  That  is,  as  he  re- 
peats these  acts,  he  comes  to  know  how  it  feels  to  act  in  such 
a  way.  The  next  higher  form  of  imitation  to  function  after  the 
simple  reflex  form,  is  the  spontaneous  form.  This  is  nascent 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  period  of  infancy  and  the  early 
part  of  the  period  of  childhood,  perhaps  to  about  the  fourth 
year.  After  this  it  is  no  longer  dominant,  but  is  gradually  su- 
perseded by  higher  forms  of  imitation. 

Though  these  two  simpler  forms  of  imitation  are  sup- 
planted by  higher  forms,  so  far  as  their  dominance  is  concerned, 
yet  they  persist  through  life,  especially  certain  aspects  of  the 
reflex  forms.  The  child  reflects  the  moods  and  subtle  in- 
fluences of  his  environment  more  than  we  suspect.  "As  is  the 
teacher,  so  is  the  school,"  is  a  condition  that  has  its  basis  in 
this  reflex  tendency  of  imitation.  In  this  manner  of  function- 
ing this  tendency  continues  active  throughout  life.  It  is  to 
be  reckoned  with  in  the  control  of  the  child. 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  25 

Spontaneous  imitation  is  the  chief  means  through  which 
spontaneous  variation  functions.  In  fact,  the  tendency  to 
spontaneous  imitation  is  a  phase  of  spontaneous  variation. 
Through  it  the  child  acquires  a  vast  amount  of  knowledge,  as 
well  as  a  great  variety  of  tendencies  to  act.  Broad  founda- 
tions are  thus  laid  for  his  future  mental  growth  and  develop- 
ment. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  spontaneous  imitation,  the  act  of 
imitating  takes  place  immediately  after  the  occurrence  of  the 
act  imitated,  but  as  memory  develops  the  intervening  time 
between  the  act  of  imitation  and  the  act  imitated  grows  greater 
and  greater  till  the  act  of  imitation  may  occur  the  day  follow- 
ing the  occurrence  of  the  act  imitated,  or  it  may  be  several 
days  afterwards.  Thus,  mental  images,  instead  of  objects  of 
sense,  become  the  stimuli.  In  this-  way  imitation  evolves  into 
higher  forms  of  functioning. 

In  spontaneous  imitation  the  child  is  not  conscious  of 
the  act  as  such,  but  in  conjunction  with  the  self-regarding 
instinct  many  of  his  acts  of  imitation  become  conscious  and 
voluntary.  He  studies  the  imitative  act  and  tries  to  make  it 
conform  to  the  demands  or  wishes  of  others.  It  begins  to 
function  and  develops  parallel  with  self-consciousness.  For 
education  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  tendencies.  It  is  a 
tendency  that  must  be  reckoned  with,  more  or  less  to  puberty. 
Based  on  this  tendency,  one  might  lay  down  this  principle : 
"Don't  tell  the  child  how  to  do  the  thing,  but  rather  show  him 
how  to  do  it."  It  is  on  this  account  that  example  counts  for 
so  much  with  the  child  in  his  moral  development.  Directions 
and  rules  have  very  little  place  in  the  education  of  the  child. 
Through  the  development  of  voluntary  imitation,  the  will  is. 
developed  and  hence  character. 

In  the  matter  of  character  building,  another  aspect  of 
imitation  appears  in  which  ideals  are  imitated.  Here,  again, 
imitation  acts  in  close  conjunction  with  the  self-regarding  in- 
stinct. The  ideals  of  childhood  are  built  up  in  the  child 
through  being  accepted  by  him,  because  they  bear  the  stamp 
of  approval  of  those  in  whose  good  opinion  he  wishes  to  stand, 
and  in  whom  he  has  confidence. 

For  his  ideals,  the  child  draws  very  heavily  on  literature. 
In  fairy  tale  and  myth  and  tales  of  adventure,  the  heroes  and 
heroines  have  much  to  do  in  the  matter  of  ideal  making.  Char- 
acters of  history  are  important.  In  literature  and  history  the 
child  is  prone  to  accept  those  characters  as  ideals  that  have 
the  stamp  of  approval  of  others.  His  discriminating  judgment 
is  not  sufficiently  developed  to  set  up  standards  on  his  own 
account.  Later,  in  the  adolescent  period,  when  the  discrimi- 
nating judgment  is  better  developed,  the  individual  begins  to 
set  up  standards  of  his  own.  And,  too,  his  interest  begins 
now  to  center  more  and  more  in  persons  older  than  himself— 
he  is  interested  now  in  adults,  while  formerly,  in  the  juvenile 
period,  his  interest  was  more  in  those  of  his  own  age. 

The  instinct  of  imitation  enters  largely  into  the  learning 
process  of  the  pupil.  This  instinct,  in  conjunction  with  the 


26  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

innate  tendencies  to  construct  and  express,  has  much  to  do 
with  learning  to  write  and  draw.  In  conjunction  with  the 
tendency  to  expression,  it  enters  very  largely  into  the  child's 
learning  his  native  tongue,  as  well  as  the  learning  of  other 
languages. 

In  order  to  teach  fluency  of  speech  and  also  ease  in  writ- 
ten composition,  the  child  should  hear  good  language,  and 
especially  should  he  be  saturated  with  the  best  literature.  Few 
children  are  fortunate  enough  always  to  hear  choice  English. 
To  make  up  for  this  defect,  it  is  necessary  that  the  child  be 
saturated  with  the  best  literature.  In  his  composition  work 
he  will  at  first  imitate  the  style  of  the  authors  studied  ;  but  will 
gradually  acquire  a  style  of  his  own.  All  of  our  great  literary 
geniuses  have  passed  through  the  imitative  stage,  as  is  well 
known.  It  is  through  imitation  along  whatever  line  that  the 
individual  finds  himself.  It  is  because,  through  imitation,  he 
exercises  a  wide  range  of  tendencies,  and  synthetizes  these 
into  new  possibilities. 

This  instinct  is  found  in  many  species  of  animals  below  man. 
Kinnaman  found  that  monkeys  imitate  each  other's  actions.  It  has 
been  found  by  experiment  that  a  great  degree  of  perfection  is  added 
to  the  song  of  the  young  bird  by  imitating  older  birds,  which  perfec- 
tion was  not  attained  when  the  young  bird  was  not  allowed  to  hear 
the  song  of  the  older  bird.  Dr.  Porter  found  imitation  quite  common 
in  the  birds  with  which  he  experimented. 

The  instinct  of  imitation  appears  in  children  as  early  as  the 
fifth  month,  as  was  found  by  Dr.  Porter  in  experiments  on  his  own 
child  of  that  age.  Mrs.  Burk  made  a  study  of  imitation  (Ped.  Sem., 
April,  1897),  based  on  E.  H.  Russel's  observations,  and  worked  out 
the  following  conclusions:  Oiiklrpn  imifflte~adn1ts  more  than  they 
dp  children  ancLlhe  loweju-aiwrrafe  —  -This  tendency  increases  with 
"hts-y«arsT~  -Sire  found  three  kinds  of  imitation,  direct  imitation,  play- 
ing, and  imitation  with  a  conscious  purpose.  The  first  is  the  more 
unconscious  form,  the  second  the  dramatic,  as  in  play.  The  third 
is  self-explanatory.  The  first  decreases  and  the  second  increases  with 
age.  She  found  that  the  imitation  of  the  idea  increases  and  the  imi- 
tation of  the  actual  thing  decreases  with  age,  and  finally  that  in  the 
early  years  there  is  a  preponderance  of  imitation  of  action  over  that 

speech.  She  appends  some  pedagogical  suggestions:  "(a)  The 
aturaljtendencies  of  child_ren^indicate  tjifrt..  .adaptations__of-  adult  oc- 
iur  njsH,  'Tie  althy  materiaj^ior  part  —  of  the  activity  of  the 


ndergarfen.  (F)  From  the  age  of  four  or  five  years  considerable 
play  shorrtcTbe  given  to  the  free  development  of  children  in  connec- 
tion with  their  social  instincts,  (c)  In  the  early  years  of  life  action 
should  be  given  a  prominent  place.  The  formal  teaching  of  language 
should  be  subordinate.  Verbal  expression  should  be  developed  spon- 
taneously in  connection  with  action." 

Dramatic  Instinct.  —  A  closely  related  form  of  spontaneous 
imitation  is  the  dramatic  instinct.  This  tendency  begins  to 
function  during  the  third  year  and  is  nascent  from  four  to 
seven,  but  continues  active,  more  or  less,  throughout  life. 
Dramatic  imitation  is  ordinary,  spontaneous  imitation  plus  the 
imaginative  element.  It  is  the  make-believe,  play-form  of 
imitation.  Through  it,  there  is  very  little  that  takes  place  in 
his  environment  that  the  child  does  not  perform  in  his  make- 
believe  manner.  He  thus  lays  hold  of  these  things  in  an  ex- 
periential way  and  in  this  manner  makes  them  a  part  of 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  27 

himself.  Spontaneous  variation  has  an  opportunity  to  func- 
tion, and  thus  the  child's  individuality  expands  and  grows 
apace. 

This  is  a  tendency  that  could  be  utilized  much  more  than 
it  now  is.  Much  more  of  the  work  in  literature  and  history 
should  be  acted  out  or  dramatized.  The  dramatic  instinct  is 
one  of  the  chief  avenues  of  approach  to  the  child,  in  teaching 
it  literature  and  history.  This  work  should  retain  its  spon- 
taneous element  to  be  most  productive  of  good  to  the  child. 
It  should  never  be  allowed  to  drop  down  to  the  level  of  a  drill 
exercise.  The  purpose  should  not  be  to  develop  dramatic 
talent,  which  is  quite  another  thing  from  dramatic  instinct. 
Dramatic  instinct  belongs  to  every  child.  This  we  cannot  say 
of  dramatic  talent.  The  purpose  of  exercising  the  dramatic 
impulse  is  to  deepen  impression  -through  expression.  Such 
procedure  arouses  and  broadens  his  sympathies. 

In  the  process  of  adjustment  of  the  individaul  to  his  en- 
vironment, many  native  impulses  are  inhibited  and  repressed. 
Such  repressions  disturb  .the  psychic  balance.  Many  of  these 
tendencies  which  have  been  thus  repressed  were  once  neces- 
sary, in  the  earlier  history  of  the  race,  for  their  survival  value, 
such  as  stealing  or  killing.  Away  down  deep  in  the  race  soul 
there  are  these  tendencies  which  may  function  in  a  harmless 
way  in  these  make-believe  performances  of  the  dramatic  im- 
pulse. Let  the  boy  impersonate  the  villain  in  his  work  in 
dramatics  and  thus  through  this  play  activity  he  will  be  vac- 
cinated against  ever  actually  becoming  a  villain.  His  soul 
will  be  purged  of  these  evil  tendencies  and  thus  will  a  katharsis 
be  worked  in  him.  On  the  other  hand,  the  boy  or  girl  who 
impersonates  the  admirable  character  will  assimilate  some- 
thing enobling  from  such  characters. 

Miss  Herts  made  a  study  of  the  dramatic  work  in  the  public 
schools  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn.  This  she  reports,  with  criticisms, 
in  the  Fed.  Sem.,  December,  1908,  p.  552.  She  found  the  pupils  "act- 
ing out"  various  scenes  from  history,  as  Braddock's  defeat,  signing 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  discovery  of  America  by  Colum- 
bus, etc.  She  found  the  children  very  much  interested,  but  felt  that 
the  mistake  was  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  In  all  the  rooms  visited 
she  felt  that  the  teacher  had  the  wrong  point  of  view,  and  hence  placed 
the  emphasis  in  the  wrong  place.  She  says:  "In  all  the  school 
rooms  observed,  the  principle  had  been  grasped  by  those  in  authority 
that  the  fact  acted  out  is  the  fact  remembered,  and  that  in  'acting' 
the  lessons  the  children  unconsciously  lent  their  fullest  co-operation 
with  the  work  of  learning  in  hand.  The  psychological  principle 
operates  more  widely  than  for  the  mere  attaching  of  the 
interest  and  memory  to  fact.  The  object  of  dramatized  lessons  is 
to  create  in  the  unexpressive  child  through  the  cultivation  of  its 
imagination  in  relation  to  the  assumed  part,  a  something  which  did 
not  previously  exist  for  that  child."  She  goes  on  to  say  that  instead 
of  doing  this  the  teacher  appeals  "to  the  dramatic  talent  of  the 
naturally  expressive  child  to  elaborate  a  something  that  already 
existed."  Miss  Herts  distinguishes  between  dramatic  instinct  and 
dramatic  talent  as  follows:  "Dramatic  instinct  is  a  significant  factor 
in  the  life  of  every  individual,  connecting  and  welding  the  individual 
with  communal  life,  and  the  human  with  the  universal.  Dramatic 
talent,  on  the  one  hand,  is  a  special,  uncommon  gift  bestowed  upon 
the  limited  few.  Dramatic  instinct",  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  common 
heritage  of  every  child."  She  maintains  that  the  work  should  be 


28  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

assigned  without  reference  to  the  child's  natural  aptitude  to  act  out 
the  part,  thus  developing  dramatic  instinct  instead  of  dramatic  talent. 

Gregarious  Instinct. — The  gregarious  tendency  or  instinct 
makes  up  much  of  the  so-called  social  instincts.  The  social 
tendency  is  more  comprehensive  than  the  gregarious  tendency, 
since  it  includes  phases  of  other  instincts  or  tendencies,  as,  for 
example,  sympathy,  which  is  a  form  of  the  imitative  instinct ; 
love  of  approbation,  which  is  a  form  of  the  self-regarding  in- 
stinct. These  two  tendencies  often  act  in  conjunction  with 
the  gregarious  instinct,  but. are  not  essential  to  its  function- 
ing. We  find  the  gregarious  instinct  manifested  more  often 
in  its  pure  form  among  the  lower  animals  than  we  do  in  human 
beings.  It  no  doubt  had  its  origin  in  the  mutual  protection 
it  afforded — and  hence  survival  value- — to  those  individuals 
that  exercised  such  tendencies. 

The  helpless  condition  of  the  human  infant  calls  forth 
this  tendency  very  early.  It  is  functioning  as  soon  as  the  child 
shows  a  tendency  not  to  want  to  be  left  alone,  though  it  is  best 
manifested  when  the  child  begins  to  take  delight  in  being  with 
other  children,  especially  those  of  his  own  age — the  mere  joy 
of  association. 

All  through  childhood  its  play  aspect  is  manifested  more 
or  less,  but  becomes  especially  active  later  in  the  juvenile 
period,  when  the  child  begins  to  participate  actively  in  co- 
operative and  group  games. 

This  instinct  is  manifested  in  later  childhood  and  early 
adolescence,  especially  in  boys'  games ;  also  in  the  chumming 
of  girls.  Many  lawless  tendencies  develop  from  the  gregarious 
instinct  of  boys,  as  it  is  manifested  in  their  gangs.  While  this 
condition  should  give  the  parent  and  teacher  some  concern, 
especially  to  allow  these  tendencies  to  function  along  legiti- 
mate channels,  and  not  to  try  to  stamp  them  out,  yet  I  believe 
there  is  a  tendency  to  magnify  the  evils  resulting  from  such 
tendencies.  Plays  and  games  adapted  to  this  period  should 
be  provided.  Organizations  should  be  encouraged.  In  this 
way  these  forces  can  be  turned  to  good  account.  Camping- 
expeditions  are  good.  A  great  deal  of  this  can  be  handled 
through  organizations.  Literature,  in  which  these  tendencies 
are  manifested,  as  stories  of  hunting  and  camping  expeditions, 
and  tales  of  adventure,  should  be  wisely  chosen  and  given. 

While  it  is  necessary  for  children  to  associate  with  those 
older  than  themselves,  especially  in  the  productive  functioning 
of  the  imitative  instinct,  yet  so  far  as  the  gregarious  instinct 
is  concerned,  it  is  more  necessary  that  the  child  associate  with 
those  more  nearly  his  own  age.  In  this  way  only  can  he  learn 
the  give-and-take  principle  of  life.  In  this  way  he  conies  to 
a  clearer  conception  of  his  own  true  worth  and  true  relation- 
ship toward  his  fellows.  He  learns  some  of  his  first  lessons 
of  self  control.  Through  the  functioning  of  this  instinct, 
the  individual  tends  to  pass  from  egoism  to  altruism.  The 
associations  that  the  child  enjoys  in  our  graded  public  schools 
are  very  helpful  in  the  right  functioning  of  this  instinct. 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  29 

The  gregarious  instinct  is  so  pronounced  among  many  of  the 
lower  animals  that  such  animals  are  referred  to  as  gregarious.  More 
specifically,  we  have  a  long  list  of  collective  nouns  referring  to  such 
groups  of  animals,  as  herd,  flock,  swarm,  colony,  etc. 

In  the  child  such  aspects  of  this  tendency  have  been  studied  as 
gangs,  clubs,  chums,  etc.  Puffer,  in  his  study  of  Boys'  Gangs  (Fed. 
Sem.,  June,  1905),  concludes  that  the  gang  has  its  origin  in  the  follow- 
ing instinctive  tendencies:  "social  instinct,  feelings  of  dependency,  the 
instinct  of  activity  or  workmanship,  the  combative  instinct,  the  instinct 
to  roam,  the  instinct  to  learn,  the  love  of  excitement,  and  the  preda- 
tory instinct."  He  concludes  that  the  gang  cultivates  a  democratic 
spirit,  courage,  rudimentary  elements  of  justice,  subordination  of 
oneself  to  the  crowd,  fidelity-  and  loyalty,  virtue  of  obedience  to  a 
leader.  He  found  further  that  the  gang  does  not  develop  chastity, 
but  the  opposite.  It  tends  also  to  break  home  ties,  but  he  concludes 
that  the  good  cultivated  far  outweighs  the  bad. 

Bonser,  in  his  study  of  Chums  (Ped.  Sem.,  June,  1902),  arrived 
at  the  following  conclusions:  At  one  time  in  its  earlier  years  the 
child  forms  an  intimate  friendship  with  another  which  is  permanent  in 
a  large  percentage  of  cases.  Conditions  of  environment  have  a  larger 
place  in  determining  such  friendships  than  temperamental  affinity 
or  conscious  selection.  The  constant  associations  of  chums  develop 
the  social  qualities,  provide  for  the  satisfaction  of  transient  race  in- 
stincts, materially  aid  in  the  cultivation  of  self-reliance,  individuality, 
and  altruism.  Finally,  that  this  close  contact  and  sympathy  have  a 
profound  influence  on  life  and  character,  especially  fitting  the  indi- 
vidual to  become  a  unit  in  the  social  whole. 

Migratory  Instinct. — It  is  quite  likely  that  the  migratory 
impulse  evolved  in  our  forbears  through  the  need  of  environ- 
mental adjustment  as  to  food,  shelter,  safety  from  the  enemy, 
seasonal  adjustment,  also  sex.  These  tendencies  persist  and 
appear  in  various  forms  in  the  growing  child.  In  the  home 
and  school  this  group  of  tendencies  appear  in  the  impulse  to 
run  away  and  truancy.  It  first  appears  in  early  childhood  in 
the  tendency  to  run  away — sometimes  in  a  very  persistent 
form.  In  general,  it  seems  to  have  its  origin  in  a  feeling  of 
discontent — a  lack  of  harmony  with  the  environment.  It  is 
accompanied  by  a  desire  for  greater  freedom.  A  desire  to  be 
out  of  doors ;  to  breathe  the  free  air.  It  may  take  on  the  form 
of  revery  and  day-dreaming. 

This  impulse  is  stronger  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year 
than  it  is  at  others,  especially  in  the  spring.  As  is  well  known, 
there  are  more  cases  of  truancy  in  the  spring  than  there  are  at 
any  other  season  of  the  year,  perhaps  due  to  psycho-physio- 
logical disturbances,  which  bring  on  spring-fever,  day  dream- 
ing, and  a  general  feeling  of  unrest.  These  are  the  conditions 
that  cause  the  home  and  school  much  concern.  Truancy  is 
such  a  common  misdemeanor  that  in  most  schools  a  truant 
officer  is  employed.  In  this  way  teachers  and  school  officers 
seem  satisfied  that  they  are  handling  the  evil  of  truancy  in  a 
successful  manner,  but  while  they  may  compel  the  boy,  in 
body,  to  be  present,  yet  in  mind  he  is,  in  most  cases,  far  away. 
This  mental  truancy  in  school  is  far  more  common  than  we 
think.  It  is  caused  by  the  same  impulse  that  causes  him  to 
run,  or  stay  away  from  school.  This  languid,  inattentive  con- 
dition does  not  indicate  that  the  pupil  has  no  interest  in 
anything.  If  the  child's  native  impulses  would  lead  him  to  the 
"vernal  wood,"  then  there  should  the  teacher  go  with  him, 


30  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

because  then  can  the  "vernal  wood"  teach  him  more  than  all 
the  sages  can.  Much  can  be  done  in  nature  study  and  nature 
poetry  and  prose  at  this  season  of  the  year,  when  the  child  is 
especially  nature-tropic.  Literature  that  is  in  tune  with  the 
dreamy,  springtime  moods  of  the  pupil,  should  be  given  if  we 
follow  his  native  interests. 

In  dealing  with  these  race  tendencies,  there  is  so  much  in 
our  schools  that  is  unnatural  that  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  a 
sort  of  shut-up  or  caged-in  feeling  pervades  the  school,  more 
or  less.  When  the  pupil  begins  to  feel  this  pressure,  then 
this  migratory  impulse  seizes  him  and  if  he  cannot  wander  in 
body  he  will  in  mind.  These  tendencies  can  be  avoided  in  a 
great  measure  by  shortening  the  study  periods,  making  more 
frequent  and  longer  the  periods  for  rest  and  recreation.  Man- 
ual training  will  do  much  to  work  off:  this  feeling  of  discontent 
and  elsewhereness.  In  other  words,  the  migratory  impulse 
can  be  made  to  function  vicariously  through  the  constructive 
instinct.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  pre-adolescent  period 
and  the  early  part  of  the  adolescent  period,  this  migratory 
instinct  is  strong,  and  is  manifested  in  the  tendency  to  play 
truant  and  to  run  away  from  home.  In  addition  to  the  rem- 
edies suggested  above,  much  may  be  done  through  literature 
properly  to  purgate  the  evil  tendencies  of  this  instinct.  Such 
stories  as  Robinson  Crusoe  are  wholesome,  in  which  the  boy, 
in  his  imagination,  can  run  away  from  home  and  with  his 
hero  must  endure  the  hardships  along  with  the  pleasures  of 
such  an  expedition.  Such  stories  will  usually  vaccinate  him 
against  actually  running  away  from  home. 

Love  of  home  is  a  tendency  that  counteracts  or  neutralizes 
this  migratory  impulse.  Whatever  will  tend  to  develop  in 
the  individual  a  love  for  home,  together  with  its  environments, 
as  woods  and  streams  and  fields  and  hills  and  neighboring 
town  or  city,  will  tend  to  overcome  this  impulse  to  wander. 

It  should  not  be  the  aim  of  education  to  crush  out  entirely 
this  migratory  instinct,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  should  not 
be  Allowed  to  become  arrested  on  a  low  plane  of  development, 
else  we  shall  have  the  vagrant,  the  tramp,  the  hobo,  or  at  least 
the  person  who  is  a  chronic  victim  of  discontent,  and  as  a 
result  is  continually  moving  about  from  place  to  place.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  opposite  tendency,  the  love  of  home,  may 
also  become  an  arrested  tendency,  and  we  shall  then  have  the 
person  who  never  goes  away  from  home  of  his  own  choice,  and 
if  he  is  compelled  to  be  away  from  home  even  for  a  short  time 
he  is  very  unhappy.  The  normal  person  should  have  these 
opposing  tendencies  so  developed  in  him  that  he  will  enjoy 
travel,  but  will  want  a  fixed  abode  which  he  will  delight  to 
call  home. 

The  migratory  instinct  is  to  be  noted  especially  in  such  lower 
animals  as  birds  and  fishes  in  their  seasonal  migrations.  Kline  main- 
tains that  this  feeling  to  go  elsewhere  is  due  to  physiological  changes 
brought  on  by  food  and  temperature  changes.  In  relation  to  seasonal 
changes,  the  sex^and  breeding  impulses  are  affected  in  such  a  way  as 
to  cause  the  migratory  impulse  to  function.  This  is  seen  in  the 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  31 

migrations  of  the   salmon   from  salt  to   fresh  water  during  the   egg- 
laying  and  breeding  season. 

Kline  made  a  study  of  "Truancy  as  Related  to  the  Migratory 
Instinct"  (Fed.  Sem.,  January,  1898),  in  which  he  draws  some  valuable 
conclusions.  Between  the  ages  of  one  and  three  or  four  he  found 
that  running  away  is  very  common.  "It  is  impulsive,  aimless,  wholly 
unconscious  of  attendant  circumstances,  such  as  bodily  danger,  anxiety 
and  worry  to  parents."  Often  delight  to  run  further  when  pursued. 
During  the  period  from  four  to  seven  he  found  the  causes  to  be 
various,  "fondness  for  new  places,  new  sights,  strange  people,  desire 
to  dp  new  things  not  supervised  by  elders,  make  new  acquaintance 
with  man,  beast,  plant  and  earth,  to  explore  new  places  and  experience 
the  unexpected.  There  is  no  special  interest  in  any  one  place  or 
thing,  but  it  is  all  places  and  all  objects.  Anything  will  set  them 
agoing,  a  stranger  or  loud-dressed  persons,  a  peddler,  a  tramp,  a 
crowd,  a  team,  a  band,  a  procession."  He  found  the  conditions  dur- 
ing the  period  from  eight  to  twelve  as  follows:  "An  inordinate  love 
for  certain  pleasures;  impatient  of  restricted  liberty;  inferior  home 
comforts;  injured  feelings  and  anger;  desire  to  earn  their  own  money." 
Kline  found,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  tendency  to  run  away  often 
ceased  at  the  beginning  of  this  period,  "owing  to  a  new  interest  in 
home  and  society." 

Instinct  of  Curiosity. — The  most  varied  of  all  the  innate 
tendencies  in  its  functioning  is  the  instinct  of  curiosity.  It 
begins  to  function  as  soon  as  the  child  begins  to  give  attention, 
and  continues  to  function  throughout  life.  It  is  conditioned 
at  all  times  by  the  tendencies  both  innate  and  acquired,  and 
conditions  at  all  times  the  individual  interests.  It  is  that 
impulse  that  makes  the  child  aggressive  to  come  into  closer 
relationship  with  his  environment.  It  keeps  the  mind  in  a 
constant  state  of  apperception.  It  is  through  the  instinct  of 
curiosity  that  the  individual  is  led  to  the  continuous  assimila- 
tion of  his  environment.  It  seems  to  be  the  instinct  whose 
function  it  is  to  make  sure  that  the  individual  enters  into  pos- 
session of  the<  inheritance  bequeathed  to  him  by  the  race. 

The  instinct  of  curiosity  attends  the  proper  functioning  of 
all  those  innate  tendencies  that  have  to  do  with  the  learning 
process.  If  these  innate  tendencies  are  properly  stimulated 
during  their  nascent  periods,  then  is  the  instinct  of  curiosity 
ever  present  to  add  zest  and  vigor  to  the  right  functioning  of 
these  processes. 

Curiosity  is  most  active  when  there  is  a  certain  degree  of 
the  novel  or  unfamiliar  in  the  objects  stimulating  this  im- 
pulse. This  augments  the  feeling  element,  and  hence  the 
interest. 

The  instinct  of  curiosity  acts  in  opposition  to  the  instinct 
of  flight.  In  the  former  there  is  the  impulse  to  approach  and 
examine  that  which  is  unfamiliar,  while  in  the  latter  there  is 
the  impulse  to  flee  away  from  the  unfamiliar. 

.  To  excite  curiosity,  there  must  be  also  a  certain  degree  of 
the  familiar.  That  which  at  first  excites  fear  may,  as  it  be- 
comes more  familiar,  begin  to  excite  curiosity.  The  instincts 
of  curiosity  and  fear  alternate  in  rapid  succession  in  the  young 
child,  but  in  adults  they  usually  act  simultaneously. 

Folk  literature  is  rich  in  matter  appealing  to  these  in- 
stincts. The  soul  of  the  child  is  delighted  with  this  literature 
which  causes  these  instinctive  emotions  to  function  in  a  harm- 


32  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

less  way,  thus  working  a  katharsis  of  the  emotions  of  fear. 
To  this  psychic  effervescence  is  due  much  of  the  charm  of 
such  literature.  This,  in  part,  prevents  fear  from  being  ar- 
rested on  a  lower  plane  of  development,  and  raises  wonder  to 
a  higher  plane  of  functioning. 

The  relationship  established  between  the  individual  and 
the  object  to  which  the  impulse  of  curiosity  leads  him,  gives 
rise  to  a  feeling  called  interest.  This  may  be  only  temporary 
or  it  may  become  a  permanent  feeling-state. 

The  child's  questions  indicate  the  direction  of  his  impulse 
of  curiosity.  At  first  the  child's  curiosity  leads  him  to  the 
effort  to  get  new  sense  experiences.  Later,  when  he  has 
learned  to  talk,  he  wants  to  know  the  names  of  things.  Later 
he  wishes  to  know  the  use  of  objects.  Following  this  he  be- 
gins to  ask  concerning  the  cause  of  things.  This  may  occur  as 
early  as  the  third  or  fourth  year.  Motion  and  color  and  sound 
are  strong  stimuli  to  incite  the  impulse  of  curiosity. 

The  child's  animistic  tendencies  make  him  curious  about 
nature  from  the  mythopoeic  standpoint.  Scientific  curiosity 
is  not  yet  for  him.  Later,  when  he  is  well  started  on  the 
juvenile  period,  his  animistic  tendencies  have  faded  out  so 
much  that  he  is  interested  in  nature  more  from  the  natural 
history  point  of  view.  This  is  the  direction  in  which  his 
curiosity  leads  him.  This  attitude  continues  well  into  adoles- 
cence and  gradually  becomes  formally  scientific. 

In  the  field  of  history  the  child's  curiosity  leads  him  to 
an  interest  in  this  subject  in  the  form  of  the  story.  During 
the  juvenile  period  this  curiosity  is  more  in  men,  especially 
the  hero ;  hence  history,  in  the  form  of  biography,  is  the  phase 
that  appeals  to  him. 

The  child's  curiosity  in  the  phenomena  of  his  environ- 
ment, should  be  the  point  of  contact  in  teaching  him  geog- 
raphy. This  includes  the  juvenile  period  and  early  adoles- 
cence. 

The  impulse  of  curiosity  that  leads  the  individual  to 
take  things  apart  to  find  out  how  they  are  made  should  lead  to 
the  proper  functioning  of  the  constructive  instinct.  On  this 
should  be  based  the  work  in  manual  training  and  related  work, 
as  discussed  under  the  constructive  instinct. 

At  eight  or  nine,  curiosity  in  questions  of  sex  begins  to 
function.  This  does  not  seem  to  form  an  exception  to  the 
general  principle  that  when  the  child  becomes  curious  about 
things — that  is,  begins  to  ask  questions — that  then  is  the 
time  ripe  to  begin  to  teach  him  at  least  something  about  such 
things.  In  matters  of  sex  this  is  difficult,  but  the  difficulty 
must  be  met  by  parents  and  teachers.  This  curiosity  will  be 
satisfied  in  some  way,  and  it  better  come  from  parents  and 
teachers  than  from  questionable  sources. 

Throughout  childhood,  imitation  and  play  supplement  the 
work  of  curiosity,  especially  where  the  thing  in  which  the 
pupil  becomes  interested  is  of  such  nature  that  it  can  be  imi- 
tated or  acted  out  in  play. 

As  regards  curiosity  during  the  period  of  adolescence,  it 
may  be  said  that  the  individual's  interests  are  so  varied  and 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  33 

all-encompassing  that  there  is  scarcely  an  aspect  of  human 
culture  into  which  his  instinct  of  curiosity  does  not  lead  him 
to  make  excursions. 

Curiosity  is  found  in  many  animals  below  man.  It  is  especially 
strong  in  the  monkey.  Groos  says  that  "next  to  the  child  the  monkey 
is  the  most  curious  of  animals."  Groos  maintains  that  the  dog's 
curiosity  is  what  makes  him  valuable  as  a  watch  dog.  Dr.  Porter,  in 
his  study,  "Intelligence  and  Imitation  in  Birds"  (American  Journal  of 
Psychology,  January,  1910),  found  that  the  sparrow  is  more  curious 
than  is  the  cowbird  or  the  pigeon. 

The  following  facts  are  drawn  from  the  study  of  "Curiosity  and 
Interest"  (Ped.  Sem.,  September,  1903),  by  Drs.  Hall  and  Smith. 
They  found  that  the  first  act  of  attention  occurs  sometime  during  the 
second  week.  This  is  only  momentary.  The  next  step  occurs  about 
the  fourth  or  fifth  week,  when  the  baby  actively  directs  its  attention 
toward  an  object,  especially  one  that  is  bright  or  moving.  The  audi- 
tory develops  along  with  sight.  The  stage  of  active  experimenting 
occurs  during  the  second  half  of  the  fi'rst  year.  They  found  that  the 
questioning  phase  of  curiosity  developed  along  with  language.  These 
questions  they  classified  under  the  following  heads:  (a)  forces  of 
nature;  (b)  mechanical  forces;  (c)  origin  of  life;  (d)  theology  and 
bible  stories;  (e)  death  and  heaven;  (f)  questions  which  are  merely 
inquisitive.  Twice  as  many  boys  as  girls  were  interested  in  mechanics 
and  the  interest  is  shown  early.  Questions  relating  to  the  origin  of 
life  were  asked  chiefly  by  children  between  three  and  eight.  Closely 
connected  with  these  questions  were  those  pertaining  to  religion.  The 
child's  attitude  toward  death  during  this  time  was  found  to  be 
largely  that  of  curiosity.  Between  four  and  eight  the  child  is  de- 
structively curious.  Toys  are  usually  the  objects  destroyed.  During 
the  adolescent  period,  the  desire  to  travel  is  strong.  This  desire  sel- 
dom appears  before  ten.  This  desire  is  usually  initiated  by  the 
reading  of  books  or  by  stories  told  by  friends  who  have  traveled. 

Hunting  Instinct. — Closely  related  to  the  fighting  and 
collecting  instincts  is  the  hunting  instinct.  It  had  its  origin 
chiefly  in  the  struggle  for  food  in  which  fighting  was  almost 
always  involved.  It  is  manifested  in  the  primitive  tendencies 
to  hunt  down  and  kill  an  enemy.  One  of  its  prominent  aspects 
is  to  destroy  life — to  kill.  It  is  also  manifest  in  the  tendency 
to  plunder  and  steal.  Here,  it  is  closely  related  to  the  collect- 
ing instinct. 

It  might  seem  strange  that  these  primitive  tendencies 
should  concern  us  in  the  education  of  the  child  were  it  not  that 
they  appear  in  his  life  in  various  forms  and  with  much  vigor. 
It  is  more  common  than  we  think.  In  conjunction  with  the 
migratory  instinct,  it  causes  the  boy  to  run  away  from  home 
or  school,  to  go  fishing  or  hunting.  It  is  that  tendency  that 
impels  the  boy  to  rob  and  destroy  birds'  nests.  That  causes 
him  to  catch  and  pull  off  the  legs  and  wings  of  insects.  In 
conjunction  with  the  gregarious  and  collecting  instincts,  it 
leads  him  to  join  the  gang  and  to  go  out  on  plundering  and 
stealing  expeditions  into  neighbors'  fields  and  orchards.  It  is 
that  primitive  tendency  in  boys,  when  in  camp,  that  makes  the 
chicken,  stolen  from  a  neighboring  hen-roost,  taste  much  bet- 
ter than  the  one  brought  from  home.  Many  a  boy  has  fetched 
up  in  juvenile  court  because  of  the  lawless  functioning  of  this 
tendency.  Not  that  the  boy  is  really  bad,  but  it  is  a  case  of 
misdirected  energy.  While  these  tendencies  should  be  di- 
rected along  more  legitimate  channels  and  curbed  here  and 


34  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

there,  yet  I  believe  parents  and  teachers  and  officers  take  boys 
a  little  too  seriously  with  reference  to  the  acts  committed  as  a 
result  of  the  functioning  of  this  tendency.  Few  men  there  are 
who  have  not  indulged  this  tendency,  more  or  less.  In  order 
that  the  boy  be  best  fitted  to  become  a  member  of  a  civilized 
community,  he  must,  in  a  certain  measure,  travel  the  road  over 
which  the  race  in  its  evolution  has  come,  by  recapitulating  in 
mild  form  some  of  the  traits  of  his  savage  forebears.  If  the 
principle  that  a  little  evil  indulged  in  will  vaccinate  against  the 
committing  of  greater  evils  in  the  future,  it  surely  is  true  here. 
Therefore,  let  us  not  take  boys  too  seriously,  or  we  may  run 
the  risk  of  causing  arrested  development  in  their  moral  educa- 
tion. We  must  not  nip  those  things  in  the  bud  that  will  grow 
into  virility  and  rugged  manhood. 

The  question  that  we  are  specially  concerned  with  here  is, 
"How  can  the  interests  arising  from  the  functioning  of  this 
instinct  be  utilized  in  the  education  of  the  child?" 

Let  us  note  first  that  this  instinct  finds  expression,  in  a 
great  measure,  in  its  play  aspect  as  is  seen  in  such  games  as 
tag,  hide  and  seek,  hurling  and  throwing.  Such  games  should 
be  provided  for  and  encouraged.  In  this  way  these  tendencies 
will  be  drafted  off  along  legitimate  channels,  and  will  be  trans- 
muted into  physical  and  mental  well-being.  The  hunting 
instinct  takes  the  child  afield.  This  furnishes  the  point  of 
contact  to  lead  the  child  to  an  interest  in  nature.  The  skilful 
teacher  should  be  able  to  change  the  child's  attitude  of  desiring 
to  destroy  animal  life  about  him  into  a  sympathetic  interest. 
Such  an  interest,  for  example,  would  lead  him  not  only  to  spare 
the  bird's  nest  instead  of  robbing  and  destroying  it,  but  to  take 
an  active^  interest  in  protecting  it.  The  plea  here  is  not  to 
spare  animal  life  indiscriminately,  but  to  counteract  the  in- 
discriminate destruction  of  life.  The  practical  outcome  of  this 
work  in  nature  study  is  to  lead  the  child  and  adolescent  to 
love  and  protect  the  life  about  him  that  is  harmless  and  help- 
ful to  man,  and  to  turn  his  tendency  to  destroy  upon  the  life 
that  is  harmful.  He  should,  by  all  means,  be  allowed  to  fish 
and  hunt.  It  is  quite  likely  to  happen  that  if  the  child  is 
taught  to  save  life  without  discrimination,  because  of  the 
moral  lessons  involved,  he  is  in  danger  of  becoming  a  victim  of 
arrested  development  in  his  moral  development.  Such  a  pro- 
cedure in  moral  training  defeats  its  own  purpose. 

In  the  grammar  grades  and  high  school,  many  valuable 
lessons  can  be  taught  and  permanent  interests  established  in 
civic  biology  through  the  proper  utilization  of  the  native 
interests  arising  from  the  functioning  of  the  hunting  instinct. 

It  has  been  shown  by  Groos  that  the  hunting  instinct  appears 
very  early  in  many  of  the  higher  forms  of  animal  life  in  the  form  of 
play  and  later  becomes  a  serious  form  of  animal  activity.  The  kitten 
chases  an  object,  as  a  ball.  It  plays  with  the  mouse  brought  to  it 
by  the  mother.  The  puppy  plays  with  mock  prey,  as  pieces  of  wood. 

This  tendency  to  hunt  and  chase  and  kill  is  early  exhibited  in 
children,  especially  among  boys.  It  is  shown  in  the  desire  to  throw 
chips,  stones,  and  other  missiles,  at  almost  any  sort  of  target,  and 
especially  at  animal  life.  Also  to  chase  and  kill  any  kind  of  animal 
life  without  reference  to  the  use  that  these  objects  may  serve.  This 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  35 

instinct  was  very  useful  in  our  savage  ancestors  in  securing  food. 
G.  H.  Schneider  (Der  Menschliche  Wille,  Berlin,  1882,  p.  62)  is  quoted 
by  Groos  as  saying:  "The  boy  never  eats  the  butterflies,  beetles, 
flies,  and  other  insects  which  he  eagerly  pursues  and  possibly  dis- 
members, nor  does  he  suck  the  eggs  which  he  gets  from  nests  in  high 
trees,  often  at  the  risk  of  his  life.  But  the  sight  of  these  creatures 
awakens  in  him  a  strong  impulse  to  plunder,  hunt  and  kill,  apparently 
because  his  savage  ancestors  obtained  their  food  chiefly  by  such 
acts."  James  says  that  "A  boy  can  no  more  help  running  after  an- 
other boy  who  runs  provokingly  near  him  than  a  kitten  can  help 
running  after  a  rolling  ball."  James  maintains  that  if  not  exercised, 
the  hunting  instinct  "may  even  entirely  die  out,  and  a  man  enjoy  let- 
ting a  wild  creature  live,  even  though  he  might  easily  kill  it." 

Collecting  Instinct. — The  instinct  to  collect,  to  acquire,  to 
possess,  is  universal  among  men  and  extends  far  down  in  the 
scale  of  animal  life.  It  manifests  itself  very  early  in  the  child. 
It  appears  during  the  first  year,  and  the  collecting  aspect  ap- 
pears as  early  as  the  second  year.  It  is  usually  active  through- 
out life  in  some  form.  The  way  in  which  the  child  manifests 
this  instinct  depends  to  a  great  extent  on  his  environment. 
Imitation  enters  in  very  materially;  the  child  collects  and  de- 
sires to  possess  what  he  sees  others  collecting  and  possessing, 
but  this  should  not  be  considered  proof  that  it  is  not  an  in- 
stinct. With  all  its  variation  due  to  environment,  there  is 
beneath  all  these  varied  tendencies  the  tendency  to  acquire  and 
possess  something,  even  aside  from  any  motive  that  might  be 
considered  utilitarian. 

Not  only  is  this  instinct  modified  by  imitation — in  fact 
its  manner  of  manifestation  depends  almost  wholly  on  imita- 
tion— but  it  is  closely  bound  up  with  the  functioning  of  other 
instincts.  In  connection  with  the  instinct  of  rivalry,  it  be- 
comes very  intense.  Working  in  conjunction  with  the  self- 
regarding  instinct,  it  may  cause  this  instinct  to  swing  over  from 
negative  to  positive  functioning.  That  is,  the  acquiring  of 
property  in  the  form  of  collections  or  what  not,  may  bring  to 
the  fore  the  positive  self-feelings,  stimulated  especially  by  the 
successful  functioning  of  the  instinct  of  rivalry.  It  may  act 
in  conjunction  and  augment,  the  instinct  of  beauty  or  the 
aesthetic  instinct,  in  the  collecting  and  possessing  of  beautiful 
things. 

During  childhood  the  objects  collected  usually  have  a 
sensory  value,  bright  and  attractive,  as  bright  marbles  and 
chromos.  The  objects  have  value  for  their  own  sake.  Later, 
during  adolescence  as  altruism  develops,  this  aspect  adds 
value  to  the  things  collected.  Instead  of  colored  cards,  photos 
have  more  value.  Such  objects  as  marbles  lose  their  value, 
and  collections  of  autographs  mean  much  more  to  the  collector. 

The  question  for  pedagogy  is,  "Can  this  native  interest  in 
making  collections  be  utilized  in  the  education  of  the  child?" 
I  think  one  is  safe  in  answering  this  question  in  the  affirma- 
tive. Since  this  instinct  has  such  a  varied  manner  of  func- 
tioning, what  the  child  collects  depending  so  much  on  the  in- 
stinct of  imitation,  it  is  possible  for  the  teacher  to  direct  and 
modify  the  functioning  of  this  native  tendency  along  useful 
lines.  Its  functioning  can  be  made  to  lead  to  an  interest  in 


36  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

nature  study  in  collections  from  that  field  of  knowledge. 
This,  of  course,  includes  elementary  work  in  geography. 
This  instinct  can  be  turned  to  good  account  in  the  matter  of 
making  collections  of  clippings  from  newspapers  and  maga- 
zines, useful  in  almost  all  lines  of  school  work.  This  is  to 
include  collections  of  memory  gems,  both  in  prose  and  poetry. 
In  this  way,  this  instinct  can  be  turned  to  good  account  along 
many  lines  and  can  thus  be  made  an  educational  force  worthy 
of  the  consideration  of  the  thoughtful  teacher. 

The  above  suggestions  apply  most  to  the  pre-adolescent 
years,  since  the  instinct  is  strongest  during  that  time ;  but  it 
applies  also  to  adolescent  years  in  a  large  degree.  Here  the 
instinct  crops  out  in  the  form  of  fads  and  fashions,  but  the 
interests  established  during  the  pre-adolescent  years  must  be 
followed  up  and  built  upon  during  adolescence. 

This  instinct  touches  elbows  with  the  constructive  in- 
stinct in  the  work  in  manual  training.  This  instinct,  which,  in 
its  deeper  meaning,  is  the  instinct  of  ownership,  is  appealed 
to  when  the  child  makes  that  which  is  to  be  his  very  own,  and 
especially  if  it  is  an  article  of  use  to  him.  In  making  collec- 
tions, especially  in  natural  history,  the  instinct  acts  in  con- 
junction with  the  so-called  hunting  instinct.  The  instinct  of 
curiosity,  too,  is  ever  present. 

There  are  those  who  may  feel  that  the  collecting  instinct 
should  be  stamped  out — if  that  be  possible — or  allowed  to 
atrophy,  because  it  seems  to  lead  to  forms  of  selfishness  of 
very  objectionable  forms  in  childhood  and  of  fads  in  adoles- 
cence. But  if  the  child  recapitulates  the  race,  then  there  are 
these  apparently  evil  tendencies  of  his  savage  and  perhaps  pre- 
human ancestors  that  must  function  or  be  arrested  on  a  low 
plane  of  development,  which  is  apt  to  give  us  the  miser  or  the 
thief.  The  child,  through  the  proper  functioning  of  this  in- 
stinct, has  an  opportunity  to  learn  lessons  of  property  rights, 
of  thrift  and  of  right  values. 

This  instinct,  properly  developed,  will  help  to  solve  some 
of  the  social  evils  of  pauperism  and  vagrancy  and  of  the  poor 
in  general. 

The  collecting  instinct  is  closely  related  to  the  hunting  instinct, 
and  no  doubt  grew  out  of  it.  It  is  seen  in  the  lower  animals  in  the 
tendency  to  store  up  food  for  the  winter,  as  in  the  squirrel  in  storing 
up  nuts.  Also  in  the  bee  in  storing  up  honey.  It  is  an  aspect  of  the 
property  instinct.  There  is  a  tendency  in  some  animals  to  make  a 
collection  of  objects,  without  apparent  reference  to  their  use,  as  is 
seen  in  the  crow  in  its  tendency  to  make  collections  of  miscellaneous 
objects. 

Mrs.  Burk  has  made  a  careful  study  of  the  collecting  instinct  in 
children,  and  concludes  that  it  is  practically  universal  among  children. 
It  appears  early  and  develops  rapidly  after  six  and  continues  to  in- 
crease 'till  adolescence.  She  found  it  strongest  between  eight  and 
eleven.  Mrs.  Burk  found  that  boys  concentrate  more  on  a  few  things 
in  their  collecting  than  do  the  girls.  These  run  as  crazes  or  fads 
for  a  time.  She  found  that  what  children  collect  is  largely  due  to 
imitation  rather  than  a  matter  of  individual  preference.  It  was  found 
that  environment  had  much  to  do  with  what  the  children  collected. 
The  Santa  Barbara  children,  living  near  the  ocean,  collected  sea  shells 
and  sea  moss;  while  the  Santa  Rosa  children,  living  in  an  agricultural 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  37 

valley,  collected  birds'  eggs  and  other  objects  of  the  environment. 
As  to  methods  of  making  collections,  Mrs.  Burk  found  that  they  were 
either  obtained  by  their  own  exertions,  or  were  given  them,  or  were 
traded  for,  or  were  bought  or  won.  The  above,  was  the  order  for 
boys,  and  for  the  girls  more  were  given  them,  next  found,  bought, 
and  traded  for. 

Animistic  Instinct. — The  animistic  instinct  is  nascent 
throughout  almost  the  entire  period  of  childhood.  It  is  per- 
haps most  active  at  about  five  years — sometimes  a  little  earlier 
and  sometimes  a  little  later.  It  is  manifested  in  their  active 
interest  in  the  myth  and  the  fairy  tale.  The  myths  that  have 
come  down  to  us  reveal  the  attitude  of  primitive  man  toward 
his  environment.  In  the  early  history  of  the  race,  this  atti- 
tude was  retained  throughout  life,  but  among  civilized  races 
this  attitude  passes  with  the  passing  of  childhood ;  that  is,  it  is 
no  longer  an  active  conscious  attitude  after  the  ushering  in 
of  the  period  of  reasoning,  but  it  does,  and  should,  remain  a 
psychic  stratification  in  the  deeper  sub-conscious  parts  of  the 
soul,  just  as  should  many  of  the  tendencies  of  childhood  and 
youth.  Else  the  fountains  of  childhood  and  youth  will  not 
flow  in  the  life  of  the  adult  and  as  a  result  his  life  must  be- 
come desiccated  and  stereotyped. 

Since  the  child's  attitude  toward  the  world  is  closely  in 
harmony  with  that  expressed  in  the  myth,  we  should  consider 
the  animistic  tendency  or  instinct  very  important  in  the  ques- 
tion of  the  way  of  approach  to  the  child.  One  of  the  expres- 
sions of  the  animistic  instinct  is  the  child's  native  interest  in 
the  myth.  The  myths  should  help  the  child  to  interpret  the 
phenomena  of  his  environment  and  to  do  so  most  efficiently 
it  should  be  made  up  of  elements  that  are  in  harmony,  in  a 
large  measure,  with  his  present  environment. 

In  this  animistic  tendency,  the  child  projects  himself,  or 
rather  certain  of  his  own  characteristics,  into  the  objects  of  his 
environment.  This  tendency  also  leads  him  to  attribute  cer- 
tain adult  psychic  phenomena  to  objects  of  his  environment. 
Through  this  tendency  he  may  regard  the  stars  as  the  eyes 
of  God  watching  him  at  night.  Or  he  may  attribute  this  power 
to  the  moon  or  to  trees  or  to  mountains.  Who  will  say  that 
these  are  not  powerful  forces  in  making -for  weal  in  the  moral 
development  of  the  child?  We  all  remember  Hawthorne's 
story  of  the  Great  Stone  Face  and  the  effect  the  Old  Man 
of  the  Mountain  had  on  the  life  of  Ernest. 

The  child  that  sees  in  the  flower  a  human  face,  and  the 
dewdrop  resting  therein  as  tears,  is  experiencing  a  psychic 
expansion  in  human  sympathies  that,  at  that  time,  due  to  his 
extreme  egoistic  tendencies,  he  could  not  acquire  through  as- 
sociation with  his  fellows. 

A  study  of  the  child's  animistic  tendencies  is  a  key  to 
right  methods  in  nature  study.  Teachers  and  writers  on  na- 
ture study  would  force  upon  the  child  the  attitude  toward 
nature  that  belongs  to  a  much  later  period.  In  fact,  this 
mistake  is  made  also  with  the  adolescent  in  the  high  school. 
I  refer  to  the  forcing  upon  the  pupil,  of  whatever  grade,  the 
viewpoint  belonging  to  a  higher  grade.  If  we  would  teach 


38  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

the  child  truth  we  must  lead  him  to  a  knowledge  of  his  environ- 
ment through  his  own  natural  tendencies.  His  is  not  a  world 
governed  by  physical  law,  but  one  animated  by  psychic  quali- 
ties closely  akin  to  his  own.  Let  the  nature  myth  be  closely 
correlated  with  the  work  in  nature  study.  He  should  be 
saturated  with  nature  poetry  suited  to  his  age. 

This  animistic  tendency  is  at  the  very  root  of  the  develop- 
ing of  the  religious  nature  of  the  child,  just  as  it  was  at  the 
very  foundation  of  primitive  religions.  Properly  trained,  this 
tendency  will  lead  the  child  to  a  healthy  attitude  of  awe  and 
reverence  toward  his  environment.  This  attitude  is  funda- 
mental to  right  religious  training  later. 

The  adult  whose  animistic  tendencies  were  properly 
trained  in  his  childhood  has  "glimpses  that  make  him  less  for- 
lorn." For  him  there  is  more  of  a  "pleasure  in  the  pathless 
woods/'  and  a  "rapture  on  the  lonely  shore."  As  it  were,  he 
will  "have  sight  of  Proteus  rising  from  the  sea,  or  hear  old 
Triton  blow  his  wreathed  horn."  He  will  have  life  more 
abundantly. 

Through  the  child's  animistic  tendencies  he  is  brought  into  closer 
relations  with  animate  and  inanimate  life  about  him.  This  tendency 
is  at  the  root  of  his  interest  in  pets.  Kaylor,  in  his  study,  "Feelings, 
Thought  and  Conduct  of  Children  toward  Animal  Pets"  (Fed.  Sem., 
June,  1909),  has  some  valuable  contributions  to  offer.  A  few  will  be 
noted  here.  He  found  that  the  order  of  popularity  of  pets  was  dog, 
cat,  canary,  horse,  and  rabbit,  etc.  The  interest  in  the  horse  increases 
rapidly  from  seven  to  sixteen,  in  both  boys  and  girls.  At  all  ages, 
boys  have  more  interest  in  rabbits  than  have  girls.  Boys  have  less 
interest  in  parrots  than  have  girls,  and  this  interest  declines  after 
nine,  while  in  girls  this  interest  gradually  rises  till  fifteen,  when  their 
interest  in  the  horse  and  their  keen  interest  in  the  parrot  are  about 
equal.  He  found  that  young  children  prefer  pets  that  they  can  fondle 
and  carry  around.  His  returns  show  that  the  child  is  interested  most 
in  the  activities  of  animals;  that  he  attributes  to  the  animal  moral 
qualities  and  emotions;  that  he  shows  real  sorrow  when  his  pet  is 
taken  from  him,  and  sympathy  when  a  pet  is  abused. 

The  child's  attitude  toward  inanimate  nature  is  well  shown  in 
the  study  made  by  Slaughter,  "The  Moon  in  Childhood  and  Folklore" 
(American  Journal  of  Psychology,  April,  1902).  One  thing  clearly 
brought  out  in  his  returns  was  that  the  child  attributes  life  to  the 
moon — makes  it  a  personality.  They  either  regarded  it  as  a  man  or 
as  containing  a  man;  sometimes,  however,  this  personality  would  be 
a  woman.  Sometimes  this  person  in  the  moon  would  be  regarded  as 
God,  or  as  someone  who  watched  naughty  children  and  told  God  of 
their  doings.  Some  regarded  it  as  a  place  where  dead  people  go. 
This  study  shows  conclusively  the  importance  of  the  moon  in  the 
child's  life,  and  suggests  the  importance  of  other  phenomena. 

Expressive  Instinct. — The  expressive  instinct  is  perhaps 
the  most  fundamental  in  the  process  of  language  learning,  the 
instinct  of  imitation  being  a  close  second. 

Just  as  the  motor  activities  of  the  child  have  their  begin- 
nings in  its  aimless  automatic  movements,  so  does  language 
have  its  beginnings  in  the  meaningless  babblings  of  the  in- 
fant. Thus  does  the  expressive  instinct  function,  first  in 
exercising  the  organs  of  speech,  the  lips,  tongue,  larynx,  and 
lungs.  These  early  forms  of  expression  are  wholly  motor,  but 
before  the  close  of  the  first  year  they  begin  to  be  reactions  to 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  39 

sensory  stimulation.  About  this  time  imitation  begins  to  co- 
operate with  the  expressive  instinct  and  words  begin  to  take 
on  emotional  coloring  and  come  more  and  more  to  have 
ideational  content.  Word  learning  proper  does  not  usually 
begin  before  the  latter  half  of  the  second  year.  Through 
imitation  to  aid  him  in  learning  words,  the  child  is  able  to  utter 
many  words  whose  meaning  he  does  not  yet  know. 

Not  only  does  the  child  learn  to  express  himself  in  oral 
language,  but  he  also  learns  to  express  himself  even  more 
vigorously  by  means  of  gestures  of  the  body,  face  and  limbs. 

Another  well  known  form  of  expression  is  that  displayed 
in  the  child's  work  in  drawing.  It  acts  in  conjunction  with 
the  constructive  and  aesthetic  instincts  in  the  work  in  draw- 
ing. It  functions  first  in  the  so-called  scribble  stage,  but 
comes  more  and  more  to  represent  mental  states  of  the  child. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  child's  work  in  drawing,  the 
expressive  instinct  is  the  predominating  instinct,  for  he  draws 
what  is  in  his  mind  rather  than  representations  of  what  he 
sees.  Later,  as  his  imagination  develops  and  his  power  to 
execute  increases,  the  constructive  instinct  co-operates  more 
and  more  with  the  expressive  instinct  in  the  work  in  drawing. 
This  is  the  condition  during  later  childhood  and  pre-adoles- 
cence.  During  the  latter  part  of  pre-adolescence  and  adoles- 
cence, when  the  individual's  sense  of  beauty  is  nascent,  the 
aesthetic  instinct  co-operates  with  the  instinct  of  expression 
and  construction.  As  a  result,  the  art  phase  of  drawing  be- 
comes of  interest  to  the  pupil. 

During  the  juvenile  or  pre-adolescent  period,  the  language 
interest  is  nascent.  It  is  so  active  that  there  is  a  strong  ten- 
dency for  the  child  to  make  words.  This  is  the  period  of 
pig  latin  and  a  secret  language,  deaf-and-dumb  alphabet,  ges- 
ture language  and  slang.  This  is  the  time  to  teach  him  one 
or  more  foreign  languages,  chiefly,  however,  by  the  conversa- 
tional method.  This  could  be  begun  during  the  early  part  of 
this  period,  and  during  the  latter  part  of  the  period,  Latin  and 
Greek,  if  they  are  ever  to  be  taught  the  child,  could  advan- 
tageously be  begun.  Since  the  juvenile  period  is  one  of  nab- 
ituation.  this  is  the  time  to  give  the  boy  or  girl  the  language 
habit.  In  this  way  later  work  in  language  will  be  made  easy. 

Since  the  juvenile  period  is  the  nascent  period  for  the 
verbal  memory,  not  only  can  the  above  work  be  done  to  ad- 
vantage, but  also  much  can  be  done  in  the  child's  native  tongue. 
He  should  become  a  master  in  his  own  language,  so  far  as  its 
mechanics  are  concerned.  At  the  close  of  the  juvenile  period 
the  boy  or  girl  should  be  a  good  reader. 

The  juvenile's  tendency  to  expression  should  be  stimu- 
lated to  function  freely  in  oral  speech.  Less  written  and  more 
oral  expression  should  be  the  watchword ;  and  indeed,  so  it 
will  be  if  we  allow  his  innate  tendencies  full  rein.  The  circuit 
of  communication  established  in  the  evolution  of  the  race  is 
the  short  one,  from  ear  to  mouth.  The  long  circuit,  from  eye 
to  hand,  is  of  recent  origin  in  race  history  and  should  always 
occupy  a  subordinate  place. 


40  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

Expression  to  be  genuine  must  represent  that  which  is 
within.  If  the  individual's  native  interests  are  followed  in 
the  matter  of  language  training,  his  language  will  truly  ex- 
press what  is  within.  This  is  violated  most  in  composition 
work.  The  work  should  be  based  on  subjects  in  which  the 
pupil  is  genuinely  interested. 

In  the  teaching  of  foreign  languages,  the  new  words 
should  be  presented  in  the  presence  of  objects  or  pictures  of 
objects  which  the  words  represent,  and  not  through  the  me- 
dium of  English  equivalents.  This  is  the  natural  way  and 
hence  follows  the  pupil's  native  interests.  In  this  way  the 
word  is  more  readily  recalled  because  it  is  associated  from  the 
first  with  the  object  which  it  represents. 

Since  imitation  enters  so  largely  into  the  process  of  learn- 
ing languages,  the  child's  environment  becomes  a  most  im- 
portant factor.  It  has  been  said  that  if  we  give  the  child  the 
proper  environment,  imitation  will  do  the  rest. 

During  the  entire  school  period  the  pupil  should  be  en- 
couraged to  commit  choice  passages  from  literature,  both 
prose  and  poetry,  especially  the  latter.  This  will  aid  him  very 
materially  in  gaining  a  choice  vocabulary.  The  adolescent 
should  read  widely  and  a  few  choice  books  should  be  read  very 
carefully.  Whatever  enriches  his  life  will  aid  his  power  of 
expression. 

The  language,  or  expressive  instinct,  in  the  lower  animals  is 
perhaps  purely  instinctive,  as  it  is  in  the  young  child,  consisting  of 
sounds  and  signs,  serving  to  express  physical  needs  and  the  lower 
forms  of  emotional  states.  Trettien,  in  his  study  of  the  "Psychology 
of  the  Language  Interest  of  Children"  (Fed.  Sem.,  June,  1904),  worked 
out  some  valuable  conclusions  on  the  development  of  the  expressive 
tendencies  in  children.  The  first  form  of  expression  that  he  found 
was  the  differentiate^  cry  by  which  the  young  babe  expresses  its 
wants.  The  next  stage  he  calls  that  of  spontaneous  babblings.  He 
quotes  Miss  Shinn  as  saying  that  on  the  one  hundred  thirty-seventh 
day  the  child  first  showed  signs  of  distinguishing  between  her  voice 
and  that  of  the  mother.  Trettien  found  that  the  child  begins  con- 
scious imitation  between  the  seventh  and  ninth  months.  A  little 
earlier  than  this  it  was  found  that  the  child  began  to  understand  the 
meanings  of  certain  words  as,  perhaps,  dinner,  papa,  and  mamma.  He 
found  a  retardation  of  language  development  between  the  ninth  and 
fifteenth  months,  due,  he  thinks,  to  teething  and  walking.  Found  a 
great  increase  in  the  rapidity  of  learning  words  from  about  the 
eighteenth  to  the  thirtieth  months.  In  some  cases  this  began  earlier. 
The  child  begins  to  use  the  sentence  at  about  the  eighteenth  or 
twentieth  month.  Near  the  close  of  the  second  year,  in  some  cases 
earlier,  the  child  begins  to  use  inflected  forms  in  his  sentences.  The 
child  begins  to  use  the  personal  pronouns,  according  to  Trettien,  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  the  third  year.  About  this  time  and  a  little  later, 
there  is  a  stage  of  spontaneous  play  upon  words,  as  is  shown  in  the 
interest  in  rhymes  and  jingles. 

Rhythmic  Instinct. — One  of  the  most  pronounced  of  the 
instinctive  tendencies  is  that  of  rhythm.  This  tendency  ap- 
pears early  in  the  first  year  of  life.  Very  early  in  life  is  the 
child  charmed  into  silence  or  lulled  to  sleep  by  rhythmic 
movements  of  the  body  or  by  the  lullaby  song.  Before  the 
child  is  two,  it  begins  to  be  interested  in  jingles  and  rhymes, 
and  a  year  or  two  later  this  interest  is  nascent.  The  child  now 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  41 

delights  in  jingles  and  rhymes.  Firm  and  lasting  foundations 
can  be  laid  now  for  the  rhythmic  element  in  literature.  Much 
of  the  delight  and  literary  culture  that  the  child  derives  from 
literature  during  the  period  of  childhood  is  on  its  auditory 
side.  Much  poetry  can  be  read  and  taught  the  child  whose 
content  he  can  little  comprehend  on  the  thought  side ;  it  is 
worth  while  for  its  auditory  appeal. 

Up  through  the  grades,  the  high  school,  the  college,  and 
through  life  the  rhythmic  instinct  continues  to  feed  the  interest 
in  poetry.  If  more  stress  were  laid  on  the  reading  aloud  of 
poetry,  in  whatever  -grade,  and  less  stress  were  laid  on  cold- 
blooded analysis,  many  would  learn  to  love  poetry  who  now 
turn  from  it  in  disgust.  Let  us  remember  that  much  of  the 
lasting  charm  of  poetry  is  in  its  auditory  appeal. 

Much  of  the  interest  the  "child  manifests  in  music  is  due 
to  the  functioning  of  the  rhythmic  instinct.  This  interest 
should  be  quite  as  carefully  ministered  to  as  his  interest  in 
poetry.  Through  both  poetry  and  music  the  child's  finer 
sentiments  of  home  and  fatherland  and  religion  can  be  culti- 
vated. 

The  child's  instinctive  rhythmic  tendencies  are  at  the  basis 
of  his  interest  in  marching*  and  keeping  time.  Many  exercises 
and  Barnes  should  be  g-iven.  in  which  the  child  is  by  nature  ex- 
tremelv  interested,  but  which  are  likewise  the  exercises  most 
needed  to  give  him  the  very  best  development,  not  only  for 
his  present  needs,  but  which  will  best  prepare  him  for  the 
periods  to  follow. 

This  instinct  should  be  duly  reckoned  with  in  the  nuestion 
as  to  whether  the  child  should  be  taught  to  dance.  We  know 
that  it  is  as  natural  for  the  child  to  respond  in  rhythmical, 
bodilv  movements  to  music  as  it  is  for  it  to  breathe.  This  i? 
a  tendencv  that  should,  bv  all  means,  be  turned  to  educational 
account  in  the  matter  of  teaching  the  child  to  dance. 

No  doubt  the  rhythmic  instinct  in  man  evolved  to  a  great 
extent  throueh  his  reactions  to  the  rhythmic  elements  of 
natural  phenomena,  such  as  the  swaving-  of  the  branches  of 
the  trees,  the  sinking"  of  the  birds,  the  murmuring'  of  the  brook, 
the  roaring-  of  the  waterfall,  the  pulsatinsr  of  the  ocean  on  its 
shore,  and  the  reverberating-  of  the  thunder  in  the  heavens,  etc. 
The  rhvthmic  instinct  is  one  of  the  innate  tendencies  that  leads 
the  child  back  to  nature.  It  creates  in  him  a  sort  of  home- 
sickness, as  it  were.  Hence,  the  rhythmic  instinct  is  one  of 
the  points  of  contact  in  the  work  in  nature  study.  Let  the 
work  in  nature  study  and  nature  poetrv  be  closelv  correlated 
here.  Thus.,  the  sentiments  that  underlie  the  child's  religious 
and  aesthetic  nature  are  fed. 

In  his  study  of  rhythm  (Ped.  Sem.,  March,  1901).  Sears  found 
that  it  appears  earlier  in  frirls  than  in  boys:  that  rhvthmic  movements 
of  the  fundamental  muscles  come  before  those  of  the  accessorv:  that 
the  child  nrefers  duole  to  triple  time;  that  the  child  prefers  rhythms 
that  are  lively  or  fast.  Returns  seem  to  bear  out  Donovan's  state- 
ment that  "the  infant  is  capable  of  attending1  to  rhvthmic.  stimuli  long 
before  it  is  capable  of  any  other  act  of  attention."  Children  become 
interested  in  nursery  rhymes  and  jingles  some  time  after  they  mani- 


42  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

fest  an  interest  in  nursery  sounds  and  movements.  He  found  great 
variation  in  children  in  their  interest  in  rhythm.  They  show  decided 
preferences.  "Mother  Hubbard"  led,  with  "Jack  Homer,"  "Bo  Peep," 
and  "House  that  Jack  Built"  as  close  seconds.  In  regard  to  interest 
in  marching,  he  found  that  special  interest  arises  in  girls  from  nine 
to  ten  and  in  boys  from  ten  to  eleven.  Interest  in  dancing  arises  at 
about  thirteen  or  fourteen.  Sears  thinks  that  since  rhythm  is  so 
largely  physiological  no  one  is  entirely  void  of  it,  but  it  exists  in  vary- 
ing degrees.  From  this  study  of  rhythm,  Sears  concludes  as  follows: 
"When  we  consider  that  the  mind  works  rhythmically,  that  the  body 
consists  of  nearly  four  hundred  organs  of  motion  whose  action  is 
rhythmic,  that  rhythm  has  been  a  prominent  factor  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  race,  and  that  probably  the  development  of  the  race  is  in 
many  ways  repeated  in  that  of  the  child,  we  are  led  to  believe  that 
the  subject  of  instruction  in  rhythm  demands  more  attention  in  both 
the  home  and  the  school  than  is  now  given  it." 

Constructive  Instinct. — During  the  period  of  infancy  the 
child  can  be  said  to  manifest  the  tendency  to  construct,  but 
faintly,  if  at  all.  For  the  most  part,  his  life  up  to  this  time 
has  been  passive;  but  after  getting  his  first  teeth  and  after 
learning  to  walk,  which  mark  his  entrance  upon  the  period  of 
childhood,  he  becomes  more  aggressive. 

In  the  early  months  of  childhood  this  aggressiveness  is 
manifested  chiefly  in  moving  about  from  place  to  place  and  in 
grasping  objects — examining  them  first  hand.  This  impulse 
to  know  things  first  hand  manifests  itself  in  the  tendency  to 
destroy  things  which  is  in  reality  a  phase  of  the  constructive 
instinct. 

The  tendency  to  construct  is,  perhaps,  first  touched  off 
through  the  functioning  of  the  instinct  of  imitation.  The  child 
builds  up  his  blocks  as  he  sees  someone  else  build  them.  If 
he  sees  someone  writing  or  drawing,  he  takes  a  pencil  and  imi- 
tates in  marks  or  scribbles,  but  it  is  several  years  before  he 
can  do  effective  constructive' work,  due  to  his  inability  to 
co-ordinate  his  movements.  His  sensory  during  these  years 
is  far  in  advance  of  his  motor  ability.  His  fundamental 
muscles  are  fairly  well  developed,  but  not  his  finer  accessory 
muscles.  During  the  entire  period  of  childhood,  his  construc- 
tive work  should  be  such  as  to  require  the  large,  free  move- 
ments which  bring  into  function  chiefly  the  larger,  more 
fundamental  muscles.  Some  work  in  drawing  can  be  taught, 
but  little,  if  any,  work  in  writing  should  be  done,  because  such 
work  brings  into  function  the  finer  accessory  muscles.  This 
is  apt  to  cause  arrested  development  or  to  bring  on  nervous 
trouble.  His  accessory  muscles  and  the  nerves  controlling 
them  are  not  yet  developed.  For  this  reason  his  movements 
lack  co-ordination.  His  activity  is  an  end  in  itself.  He  seeks 
activity,  and  hence  growth,  through  play.  The  sensory  still 
leads  the  motor  in  development.  In  his  constructive  work, 
the  child  should  not  be  held  to  exactness.  In  his  drawing 
work  he  should  be  allowed  to  follow  pretty  much  his  own 
bent.  Large,  free  movements  and  spontaneity  should  be  the 
watchword. 

This  tendency  may  be  allowed  to  function  delightfully  and 
profitably  during  childhood,  in  paper  cutting,  modeling  in  clay 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  43 

and  sand;  but  here  again,  fine  work  and  overexactness  should 
be  avoided. 

During  the  juvenile  period  the  individual  is  active  in  many 
directions.  He  has  acquired  sufficient  mental  and  muscular 
co-ordination  to  become  an  effective  producer.  He  should  be 
led  to  make  those  things  in  which  he  has  an  interest  and  which 
may  be  of  service  to  him.  His  impulse  to  make  things  should 
be  correlated  with  his  whole  course,  as  much  as  possible.  The 
juvenile  period  is  a  practical  one  and,  therefore,  that  which 
he  constructs  should  have  some  practical  end.  In  the  early 
part  of  this  period  he  is  perhaps  most  interested  in  toys ;  there- 
fore, if  we  are  to  follow  his  native  interests,  we  should  allow 
him  to  make  toys.  Later  in  the  period,  and  continuing 
through  the  school  period  of  adolescence,  because  of  his  grow- 
ing interest  in  scientific  questions,  his  interest  on  the  con- 
structive side  centers  in  scientific  apparatus.  In  this  way 
there  may  be  brought  about  an  interaction  between  the  scien- 
tific and  constructive  impulses  that  will  result  in  increased 
interest  along  both  lines. 

Let  us  always  remember  that  the  constructive  instinct 
evolved  in  the  human  race  through  utility.  The  impulse  that 
led  men  to  make  things  was  that  of  utility.  If  we  would  fol- 
low the  pupil's  native  interests  in  the  functioning  of  his  in- 
stinct of  construction,  we  should  allow  him  to  make  those 
things  which  will  be  of  use  to  him. 

This  is  the  period  in  which  the  mechanics  of  writing  and 
drawing  should  be  taught.  His  general  tendency  to  do  and 
to  make  may  be  turned  along  these  channels.  His  tendency 
to  self-expression  should  also  be  utilized  in  teaching  him  writ- 
ing, and  drawing,  but  no  great  amount  of  written  work  should 
be  demanded.  Accuracy,  which  would  have  been  injurious 
during  the  period  of  childhood,  should  now  be  insisted  upon 
in  all  lines  of  work. 

No  argument  is  needed  to  prove  that  the  lower  animals  possess 
in  a  high  degree  the  constructive  instinct.  This  is  a  matter  of 
every  day  observation.  It  is  seen  in  the  nest-building  tendencies  of 
birds,  perches,  hedgehogs,  squirrels,  field  mice;  in  the  earthworks  of 
beavers,  foxes,  badgers,  fish-otters,  rabbits,  etc.  Also  in  the  leafy 
arbors  of  many  kinds  of  apes.  The  above  enumerations  are  from 
Groos  (The  Play  of  Animals). 

James,  in  his  Talks  to  Teachers,  p.  146,  says:  "Constructiveness 
is  the  instinct  most  active;  and  by  the  incessant  hammering  and  saw- 
ing, and  dressing  and  undressing  of  dolls,  putting  of  things  together 
and  taking  them  apart,  the  child  not  only  trains  the  muscles  to  co- 
ordinate action,  but  accumulates  a  store  of  physical  conceptions  which 
are  the  basis  of  his  knowledge  of  the  material  world  through  life. 
Object  teaching  and  manual  training  wisely  extend  the  sphere  of  this 
order  of  acquisitions.  Clay,  wood,  metals  and  the  various  kinds  of 
tools  are  made  to  contribute  to  the  store."  Dr.  Hall,  in  his  "Story 
of  a  Sandpile,"  has  shown  in  a  very  convincing  manner  the  import- 
ance of  the  constructive  instinct.  Dr.  Acher,  in  his  "Primitive 
Activities  of  Children"  (American  Journal  of  Psychology,  January, 
1910),  has  given  us  some  valuable  facts  in  regard  to  this  tendency. 
He  found  the  block-building  period  to  extend  from  before  the  close  of 
the  third  year  to  the  seventh  year.  If  blocks  were  not  to  be  had, 
they  used  other  objects  for  this  purpose.  Constructing  with  sand  and 
earth  begins  early  and  extends  to  a  much  later  time  than  with  blocks. 
Building  with  stones  did  not  begin  as  early  and  did  not  continue  as 


44  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

late  as  with  earth.     The  passion   for  making  constructions  of  snow 
was  found  very  general.     Made  forts,  houses,  caves,  and  large  balls. 

Moral  Instinct. — If  it  is  true  that  the  child  is  neither  moral 
nor  immoral,  but  unmoral,  it  seems  to  be  a  contradiction  of 
terms  to  assign  to  him  a  moral  instinct.  While  it  is  perhaps 
true  that  the  child  does  not  have  a  tendency  to  act  in  any 
particular  direction  in  consequence  of  the  workings  of  moral 
instinct,  yet  there  is  a  tendency  to  conform  to  law — to  the 
necessities  of  his  environment.  This  tendency,  it  must  be 
admitted,  is  very  faint  in  some  children,  due  in  great  measure 
to  the  extreme  egoism  of  the  child. 

One's  tendency  to  conform  to  laws  that  are  for  the  good 
of  those  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact,  as  well  as  his  ten- 
dency to  conform  to  laws  which  make  for  his  own  well-being, 
may  be  considered  the  moral  instinct. 

During  childhood  the  child's  conduct,  or  impulses  to  do 
right,  if  they  may  be  so  called,  are  largely  matters  of  imitation 
and  suggestion  on  the  part  of  his  elders.  And,  too,  what  they 
allow  him  to  do  he  considers  right,  and  what  they  forbid  him 
to  do  usually  is  wrong. 

His  impulses  to  do  right  evolve  and  function  as  he  de- 
velops both  physically  and  mentally.  His  impulses  for  right 
doing  seem  to  depend  for  their  functioning  on  the  standards 
set  up  by  his  elders. 

Standards  accepted  by  the  individual  during  his  pre- 
adolescent  years  are  often  dominant  factors  in  the  direction 
taken  by  his  ethical  impulses,  even  throughout  life.  This  is 
shown  in  much  of  the  early  training  of  the  church.  Hence,  it 
is  especially  very  important  during  the  juvenile  period,  the 
period  of  habituation  and  co-ordination,  to  train  the  individual 
to  act  in  accordance  with  right  standards.  These  standards, 
however,  are  not  to  be  reasoned  about  by  the  child,  but  to  be 
accepted  on  the  authority  o*  his  elders.  His  reason  is  not 
sufficiently  developed  to  be  able  to  acquire  standards  of  con- 
duct through  this  avenue.  To  attempt  to  force  the  child's 
reason  at  this  period  is  to  cause  arrested  development  of  the 
individual's  moral  impulses  and  also  to  impair  his  power  for 
vigorous  reasoning  later. 

Obedience,  based  on  authority,  appeals  to  the  individual 
more  at  this  age  than  does  obedience  demanded  on  the  basis  of 
reason.  His  instinctive  tendencies  to  obedience  respond  to 
the  former,  but  not  to  the  latter,  especially  because  of  his 
inability  to  reason  at  this  age.  If  the  boy  and  girl  are  trained 
to  obedience,  the  will  of  the  adolescent  will  not  have  to  be 
broken. 

Moral  training  is  the  forming  of  right  habits  of  conduct. 
It  is  to  adjust  the  child  to  his  social  environment.  When  con- 
formity to  outer  law  becomes  habit,  then  the  law  becomes  an 
inner  impulse.  This  should  be  the  goal  of  the  moral  training 
of  the  child. 

When  right  habits  of  conduct  are  formed,  and  thus  right 
impulses  to  action  established,  then  right  doing  becomes  a 
pleasure  to  the  child.  In  this  way  firm  foundations  are  laid 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  45 

for  the  period  of  pubescence,  which  is  one  of  the  most  trying 
to  pass  through  because  it  is  a  period  of  readjustment — a 
transition  period  to  adolescence  proper.  The  soul  now  begins 
to  experience  a  tremendous  expansion.  It  is  beginning  to  feel 
itself  a  part  of  the  great  world.  It  is  becoming  altruistic.  The 
individual  has  already  had  much  preparation  for  this  in  the 
co-operative  and  group  games,  and  the  gangs  and  clubs  of 
the  juvenile  period.  He  has  become  habituated  to  regard  the 
rights  of  others,  but  now  he  begins  to  feel  what  he  formerly 
did  more  from  the  necessity  of  the  case. 

One  of  the  most  important  forces  making  for  right  moral 
conduct  is  tlve  forming  of  right  ideals.  The  child  drew  his 
material  for  ideal  making  chiefly  from  his  environment.  The 
pubescent  and  adolescent  use  these  sources,  too,  but  to  a  great 
extent  get  much  from  literature,  history  and  art.  The  social 
environment  is  now  very  important,  because  the  individual 
is  so  sensitive  to  the  opinion  of  others.  If  his  companions 
and  elders  are  people  of  high  ideals,  he  is  pretty  safe,  morally. 

The  emotional  life  now,  is  at  high  tide.  This  is  the 
nascent  period  to  present  much  that  is  best  in  literature.  There 
is  hardly  a  form  of  literature  that  does  not  now  appeal  to  the 
individual.  Many  dangerous  tendencies  in  the  emotional  li*e 
can  be  drafted  off  by  means  of  literature. 

This  is  the  nascent  period  to  teach  some  of  the  most  pro- 
found lessons  that  nature  has  for  the  individual.  This  can  be 
done  through  first  hand  contact  with  nature  and  through 
nature  literature. 

Miss  Patterson,  in  the  study  Children's  Motives  (Barnes  Studies 
in  Education,  Vol.  I,  p.  352),  has  some  optimistic  conclusions.  .  She 
had  a  class  of  first  grade  pupils  reproduce  orally  a  study  told  them, 
in  which  figure  two  characters,  the  bad  white  bear  and  the  good  gray 
robin.  In  their  answers  the  boys  showed  a  greater  degree  of  selfish- 
ness than  did  the  girls,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  boys  gave  a 
broader  ethical  application  of  the  story  than  did  the  girls.  About 
75%  of  the  boys  and  80%  of  the  girls  showed  the  spirit  of  unselfish- 
ness in  their  answers  to  questions  given  them  after  a  lapse  of  two 
weeks.  Miss  Patterson  concludes  the  study  in  the  following  words: 
"It  is  said  that  children  are  naturally  selfish,  and  rightly  so,  as  self- 
preservation  is  Nature's  first  law.  With  very  young  children  this 
statement  is  certainly  true.  But  these  little  ones  come  from  families 
of  the  very  poor,  and  many  of  them  have  had  little  moral  training. 
*  *  *  This  study  seems  to  indicate  that  there  is  in  them  such  a 
thing  as  innate  kindness  and  benevolence,  and  that  unselfishness  char- 
acterizes the  majority  of  them." 

Miss  Darrah,  in  her  study  Children's  Attitude  Toward  Law 
(Barnes'  Studies  in  Education,  Vol.  I,  p.  213),  finds  that  the  curve 
fluctuates  till  twelve,  when  it  gradually  rises.  She  concludes:  "Young 
children  regard  punishment  as  an  individual  and  arbitrary  matter,  im- 
posed without  reference  to  the  social  order,  while  after  the  age  of 
twelve  there  is  a  steady  increase  in  the  regard  for  law,  three-fourths 
of  the  children  of  sixteen  appreciating  its  binding  force."  She  thinks 
that  there  should  be  no  definite  penalties,  but  that  the  punishment 
should  be  suited  to  the  individual  case  in  children. 

Religious  Instinct. — The  religious  instinct,  like  the  moral 
instinct,  is  an  impulse  that  results  from  the  operation  of  sev- 
eral other  instincts  acting  conjointly.  Some  of  these  tendencies 
that  may  be  appealed  to  in  the  religious  education  of  the  child 


46  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 


are  credulity,  fear,  animism,  curiosity,  imitation,  the  dramatic 
instinct,  the  esthetic  instinct,  and  the  self-regarding  instinct. 

The  child  up  to  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age  is  not,  in 
the  true  sense  of  the  term,  religious,  but  these  years  before 
adolescence,  in  his  religious  training  as  also  in  moral  training, 
may  be  considered  a  necessary  preparatory  stage.  There  are 
many  stages,  both  religious  and  moral,  through  which  the  race 
passes,  that  are  necessary  for  the  child  to  recapitulate  in  order 
that  he  be  best  prepared  for  the  religious  renaissance  or 
awakening  that  takes  place  during  the  period  of  adolescence. 

He  must  pass  through  the  age  of  myth,  of  form  and  cere- 
mony, in  which  he  must  take  an  active  part.  Religion,  for 
the  child,  cannot  be  made  a  thing  of  the  intellect.  It  must  be, 
rather,  a  thing  of  form  and  ceremony  based  largely  on  credulity 
or  crude  faith  and,  as  much  as  the  child  is  capable,  a  thing  of 
the  feelings — the  cruder  feelings  such  as  belong  to  the  child. 
Religion  is  at  all  times  essentially  a  thing  of  the  feelings,  but 
not  until  adolescence  does  it  lay  hold  on  the  deeper  feelings. 
The  work  of  religious  training  of  the  child,  up  to  puberty,  is 
essentially  that  of  cultivating  the  feelings  and  forming  such 
habits  as  will  best  fit  him  for  the  true  religious  awakening 
that  comes  at  adolescence. 

The  mistake  that  is  made  in  religious  education  is  in 
attempting  to  force  upon  the  child  adult  standards  and  view- 
points. Child  study  has  already  done  much  to  change  this 
method  of  procedure,  and  has  still  a  great  work  to  do  in 
leading  parents  and  religious  teachers  to  see  that  religious 
training  is  without  effect  if  it  does  not  find  a  point  of  contact 
in  the  nature  of  the  child. 

As  noted  above,  the  religious  nature  of  the  individual 
during  the  period  of  childhood  is  seen  chiefly  in  his  credulity 
and  mythopoeic  or  anthropomorphic  tendencies.  During  the 
juvenile  period  there  is  a  tendency  to  accept  standards  as  based 
on  the  authority  of  his  elders.  There  is  a  strong  tendency  to 
conform  to  law  and  custom.  The  literature  that  best  fits  the 
interests  arising  from  his  religious  tendencies  is  that  found  in 
the  Old  Testament.  As  to  its  fitness  to  serve  as  proper  food 
for  the  religious  nature  of  the  juvenile,  Dr.  Hall  writes  as 
follows :  "The  Old  Testament  begins  with  the  myth  of  cosmic 
virgins,  and  passes  to  the  agricultural  and  pastoral  stage  of 
Cain  and  Abel,  the  heroics  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Moses 
and  Joshua,  the  royalty  of  Saul,  David  and  Solomon,  the  legal 
stage  of  law  and  justice  which  so  appeals  to  boys,  to  dawning 
prophecy,  etc.  It  is  all  objective,  strenuous,  full  of  incident, 
battles,  dramatic  incidents,  and  with  a  large  repertory  of 
persons.  There  is  fear,  anger,  jealousy,  hate,  but  not  love,  and 
it  depicts  an  age  of  discipline  and  authority."  He  goes  on  to 
speak  of  the  fitness,  likewise,  of  the  New  Testament  for  the 
religious  nature  of  the  adolescent,  as  follows:  "Later  comes 
the  adolescent  New  Testament  stage,  with  its  altruistic  mo- 
tives, and,  last,  the  philosophic  age  of  Pauline  and  other  doc- 
trines which  appeal  to  the  intellect.  All  this  is  normal  and  in 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  47 

pedagogic  sequence,  the  order  of  which  should  not  be  reversed, 
as  is  so  often  done  in  religious  teaching." 

Lancaster,  in  speaking  of  the  religious  awakening  at 
adolescence,  writes  as  follows :  "Religion  before  this  age  was 
a  mere  form.  Now  it  becomes  full  of  meaning.  It  is  a  new 
interest,  and  very  many  speak  of  it  as  a  sudden  awakening. 
It  is  often  spontaneous,  like  the  interest  in  art  or  music,  or 
the  love  of  nature.  Where  no  set  forms  have  been  urged,  the 
religious  emotion  comes  forth  as  naturally  as  the  sun  rises." 

In  its  functioning,  the  religious  instinct  is  not  a  fixed 
thing,  but  is  ever  changing  with  the  development  of  the  in- 
dividual. In  its  operation  it  works  in  close  conjunction  with 
many  other  instincts.  In  its  early  operations  it  leads  the  child 
to  an  interest  in  nature ;  ind.eed,  this  interest  in  nature,  as 
stimulated  by  the  religious  impulse,  should  remain  a  perma- 
nent possession  throughout  life,  if  this  interest  is  properly 
cultivated  during  the  earlier  years.  Much  effective  work  can 
be  done  in  literature  through  the  native  interests  arising  from 
the  functioning  of  this  instinct,  especially  in  nature  poetry  in 
which  are  the  elements  of  awe,  sublimity,  majesty  and 
grandeur,  depicting  the  great  forces  of  nature. 

Starbuck,  in  his  study  of  the  religion  of  children,  notes  that  one 
of  the  most  prominent  features  is  the  unquestioning  way  that  they 
accept  what  is  taught  them  in  church,  Sunday  school,  home,  etc.  The 
element  of  imitation  he  found  more  noticeable  among  girls,  and 
obedience  among  boys.  He  found  some  cases  of  incredulity  and 
distrust.  Their  sense  of  right  and  wrong  he  found  germinates  very 
early  and  is  a  potent  factor  in  childhood  religion.  Fear  is  prominent, 
but  less  so  than  love.  Awe  and  reverence  appear  later.  Starbuck 
finds  a  clearing  of  the  religious  atmosphere  toward  the  beginning  of 
adolescence.  Ideas  of  God  and  duty  begin  then  to  take  root  in  the  life. 
The  real  religious  awakening,  he  finds,  comes  with  the  advent  of 
puberty. 

Earl  Barnes  made  a  study  of  "Children's  Attitude  toward 
Theology"  (Studies  in  Education,  Vol.  2,  p.  283).  In  his  work  he 
studied  several  hundred  children.  Following  are  some  of  his  conclu- 
sions: A  knowledge  of  theology  meets  a  natural  need  of  a  child's 
mind  and  gives  him  a  key  to  art,  literature,  and  history.  Sunday 
school  and  home  must  be  depended  on  chiefly  to  give  him  instruction. 
Under  ten,  the  child  will  accept  almost  anything  told  him,  but  there 
is  a  tendency  for  him  to  anthropomorphize.  From  ten  to  twelve  is  a 
period  of  doubt  when  these  earlier  attitudes  are  translated  into  spirit- 
ual equivalents.  After  twelve  the  religious  life  rests  more  in  emo- 
tional conditions  and  unreasoning  faith.  The  child  who  has  not 
passed  properly  and  healthfully  through  these  various  stages  "will 
have  lost  something  in  the  depth  and  strength  of  this  humanity." 

Motor  Instinct. — By  motor  instincts  are  meant  all  those 
innate  tendencies  to  movement.  The  first  movements  of  the 
child  are  random,  but  none-the-less  important.  These  early 
movements  might  be  termed  reflex ;  that  is,  they  belong  to  the 
lower  centers.  It  is  through  these  random  movements  that 
motor  or  kinesthetic  ideas  or  images  have  their  genesis.  This 
gradually  evolves  into  controlled  or  voluntary  movement. 

As  the  child  grows  older,  various  nerve  centers  ripen  in 
the  motor  areas,  in  a  successive  order,  and  thus  give  rise  to 
innate  or  instinctive  tendencies  to  movement.  Suddenly  the 
child  begins  to  creep,  or  it  may  be,  to  walk.  The  nerve  cen- 
ters governing  these  respective  movements  are  ripe  or  nascent 


48  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

and  the  child  is  seized  with  the  impulse  to  perform  the  act. 
The  innate  tendency  is  functioning. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  from  the  many  aimless  move- 
ments of  the  child,  are  chosen  those  which  best  adjust  him  to 
his  environment;  that  is,  have  the  greatest  survival  value. 
During  the  transition  period  from  infancy  to  childhood,  which 
occurs  when  he  is  learning  to  walk,  and  includes  also  the 
period  of  teething,  the  child  changes  from  a  receptive  being 
to  one  of  aggressive  activity.  This  is  also  the  first  nascent 
period  of  the  migratory  instinct.  At  about  this  time,  or  a 
little  later,  there  is  a  tendency  for  the  child  to  climb  upon 
things. 

During  the  period  of  childhood,  motor  centers  in  the  brain 
ripen  in  rapid  succession,  giving  rise  to  many  and  varied  ten- 
dencies to  movement.  These  find  an  outlet  through  the  play 
instinct  chiefly.  The  muscles  that  function  in  response  to 
these  motor  tendencies  are  the  larger  and  more  fundamental 
ones.  During  childhood  there  is  a  great  lack  of  co-ordination, 
of  movement.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  accessory  or 
finer  movements.  To  force  these  accessory  movements  to 
become  co-ordinated  is  a  common  error  of  the  primary  school 
in  the  too-early  teaching  of  penmanship,  in  the  too-exact  work 
in  drawing;  in  fine,  the  forcing  of  the  child  to  prematurely  co- 
ordinated movement  along  whatever  line,  in  order  to  make 
him  skilful  in  such  work. 

During  the  juvenile  period  the  nerve  centers,  governing 
the  accessory  muscles  and  hence  the  finer  accessory  move- 
ments, ripen  rapidly.  During  this  period  co-ordinations,  both 
physical  and  mental,  become  well  established.  This  is  the 
period  to  establish  right  habits  in  movement — to  make  them 
automatic  as  much  as  possible.  Discipline,  drill  and  habi- 
tuation,  are  the  things  to  be  emphasized  during  the  juvenile 
period — the  period  from  about  eight  or  nine  to  twelve  or 
thirteen.  The  individual,  during-  this  period,  grows  more 
slowly  than  during  the  previous  period  (childhood),  but  his 
vitality  and  activity  increase  very  markedly.  He  is  less  easily 
fatigued  and  hence  can  do  much  work  along  many  lines.  This 
is  the  nascent  period  for  writing,  drawing,  manual  training, 
the  technique  of  musical  instruments  and  the  forming  of 
right  habits  belonging  to  the  vocal  apparatus.  The  many 
physical  and  mental  readjustments  of  puberty  bring  about 
some  regressions  but,  during  adolescence,  co-ordination  is 
regained  in  greater  degree,  and  the  individual  is  now  capable 
of  the  greatest  degree  of  skill  possible. 

Motor  tendencies  are,  in  some  form,  a  universal  possession  of  all 
animal  life.  They  are  very  simple  in  the  lowest  forms  of  life,  but 
become  more  complex  as  the  scale  is  ascended.  There  is  a  general 
correspondence  between  the  degree  of  intelligence  and  the  complexity 
of  movement.  In  many  of  the  lower  animals  a  large  per  cent  of 
its  motor  tendencies  are  functioning  at  birth.  Some  are  about  as  help- 
less as  the  new-born  infant,  though  their  period  of  helplessness  does 
not  last  as  long.  Says  Groos:  "Birds  can  no  more  fly  of  themselves 
than  babies  can  walk.  The  infant's  kicking  corresponds  to  the  flut- 
tering of  little  birds  in  the  nest  and  his  first  step  to  its  first  attempt 
at  flight."  Shepardson,  in  Fed.  Sem.,  March,  1907,  p.  102,  quotes  Ross 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  49 

as  follows:  "The  main  movements  which  distinguish  man  from  the 
lower  animals  are  those  concerned  in  attaining  the  erect  posture, 
the  varied  movements  of  the  hands  as  organs  of  prehension,  the 
movements  of  voice  and  articulation  concerned  in  speech  and  those 
which  are  active  in  the  production  of  facial  expression." 

J.  A.  Gilbert  reports  in  the  Iowa  University  Studies  in  Psychology, 
Vol.  1,  a  study  of  the  motor  ability  of  children.  In  "wrist  lift,"  boys 
have  greater  strength  than  girls,  at  all  ages,  the  difference  not  being 
so  marked  till  age  fourteen,  but  at  nineteen  a  boy  lifts  about  twice 
as  much  as  a  girl.  "Mean  variations  remain  comparatively  regular 
for  the  two  sexes  until  about  age  fourteen,  and  the  change  in  the 
variation  is  largely  due  to  the  change  in  growth  coming  at  that  age. 
Girls  seem  to  complete  largely  their  development  a  year  or  two 
previous  to  the  time  at  which  boys  have  just  begun  their  most  rapid 
period  of  development." 

Play  Instinct. — Play  is  an  activity  that  prepares  the  indi- 
vidual for  the  serious  work  of  life,  by  giving  a  certain  practice 
in  doing  things.  It  is  an  act  that  is  performed  for  its  own 
sake,  and  is  therefore  perfectly  adapted  to  the  performer.  It 
is  a  spontaneous  activity.  Almost  every  innate  tendency  has 
its  play  aspect.  Play  is  a  preparatory  stage  for  most  of  the 
tendencies.  Surplus  energy  does  not  cause  play,  but  makes 
the  conditions  more  favorable.  The  first  forms  of  play  are 
the  aimless  movements  of  the  infant.  These  are  performed 
again  and  again. 

The  spontaneous  activities  of  the  child  are  the  true  reveal- 
ers  of  his  nature.  Through  play  activities,  the  various  in- 
stincts function  and  pass  over  into  habit.  The  form  of  the 
play  activity  is  determined,  through  imitation,  by  the  nature 
of  the  environment.  In  this  way  the  child  is  adjusted  to  his 
environment  and  this  adjustment  is  made  stable  in  the  pass- 
ing over  of  the  instinctive  tendencies  into  habits. 

Play  should  never  be  closely  supervised ;  especially  is  this 
true  during  the  period  of  childhood  when  spontaneity  is  its 
chief  characteristic.  No  spontaneity,  no  initiative.  It  is  in 
play  activities  that  the  child,  in  a  great  measure,  exercises  his 
race  tendencies,  so  that  these  activities  must  be  on  his  own 
initiative  and  hence,  spontaneous.  These  activities  are  ends  in 
themselves.  Organized  play  is  not  for  the  child.  He  still 
lacks  the  element  of  control — of  muscular  co-ordination.  He 
has  not  as  yet  acquired  control  of  his  accessory  muscles.  Dur- 
ing childhood  the  games  are  more  or  less  individual.  Egoism 
dominates  the  child's  life  on  every  hand.  During  the  first 
four  or  five  years  of  the  child's  life,  what  he  plays  is  largely  a 
matter  of  imitation.  The  child's  activities  during  this  period 
are  almost  wholly  of  the  nature  of  play.  What  the  child  plays 
should  be  largely  of  his  own  choosing.  He  should  be  given 
opportunity  to  have  great  variety.  Through  the  great  variety 
of  his  instinctive  tendencies,  and  with  the  aid  of  imitation, 
there  is  scarcely  an  activity  of  his  environment  that  he  does 
not  act  out.  During  the  greater  part  of  the  period  of  child- 
hood, imagination  is  the  predominating  element  in  play. 
Through  imagination  and  the  play  impulse  the  child  acts 
many  and  varied  parts.  Through  these  tendencies  the  child 
grows  rapidly  and  in  many  directions.  He  is  especially 


50  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

interested  in  acting  out  what  he  hears.  This  is  the  nascent 
period  to  have  him  dramatize  stories. 

During  the  juvenile  period,  the  aspect  of  emulation  enters 
more  and  more  into  the  games.  In  these  co-operative  and  group 
games  the  individual  learns  as  nowhere  else  how  to  conform  to 
law.  He  is  acting  out  in  play  what  he  must  act  seriously  later 
in  life  as  a  member  of  society.  This  is  the  best  sort  of  civic 
education. 

During  this  period  play  should  continue  to  be  spontaneous 
as  in  childhood,  but  the  individualistic  aspect  is  growing  less 
and  the  spirit  of  co-operation  is  on  the  increase.  During  the 
early  part  of  the  period  the  bonds  that  hold  together  the  group 
in  these  co-operative  games  are  weak  and  easily  broken,  but  the 
tendency  is  there  and  grows  stronger  till  toward  the  close  of 
the  period.  At  twelve  or  thirteen,  such  organizations  as 
are  seen  in  team  work  on  the  athletic  field,  remain  in  effective 
organization  for  months  at  a  time.  The  individual  has  learned 
to  give  up  much  for  the  sake  of  the  group.  Spontaneity  has 
passed,  to  a  great  extent,  from  the  individual  to  the  group.  In 
childhood,  the  initiative  was  largely  with  the  individual ;  now 
it  is  chiefly  with  the  group.  Through  these  group  or  co- 
operative games  the  juvenile  learns  many  valuable  lessons  of 
self-control.  He  is  being  fitted  to  become  a  true  member  of 
society. 

The  fighting  and  hunting  instincts  function  as  play  during 
the  latter  part  of  this  period  and  during  the  period  of  puberty, 
so  that  games  of  contest  are  now  prominent.  Predatory  ten- 
dencies show  themselves  in  play  at  this  time,  in  gangs  whose 
purpose  is  to  hunt,  fish,  rob,  etc. 

Since  the  play  instinct  is  an  aspect  of  nearly  every  other 
instinct,  it  may  be  utilized  along  many  lines  in  developing  and 
increasing  the  individual's  range  of  interests. 

The  play  aspect  of  the  collecting  and  hunting  instincts 
may  be  utilized  in  creating  in  the  child  and  youth  permanent 
interest  in  nature,  through  making  collections.  This  close 
contact  with  nature  will  lead  to  other  interests.  The  con- 
structive instinct,  too,  has  its  play  aspect.  Dr.  Hall  has  shown 
what  a  tremendous  force  this  is  in  the  life  of  the  child  in  his 
"Story  of  a  Sandpile."  In  manual  training,  so-called,  this  play 
aspect  shows  itself  vigorously  if  the  pupil  is  allowed  to  follow 
his  own  bent  in  what  he  makes ;  if  allowed  to  make  that  which 
will  be  of  use  to  him. 

Groos  has  well  shown  in  his  Play  of  Animals  that  play  is  a 
very  common  instinct  in  the  lower  animals.  Not  only  is  it  found  in 
young  animals,  but  in  old  ones  as  well.  He  says:  "I  have  a  dog 
twelve  years  old  that  still  shows  a  disposition  to  play  now  and  then." 
"The  cat  plays  with  the  captured  mouse  and  the  cormorant  with  the 
captured  fish.  The  weaver-bird,  when  confined  in  a  cage,  amuses 
itself  by  neatly  weaving  blades  of  grass  between  the  wires  of  the 
cage."  We  are  all  familiar  with  the  play  of  kittens  and  puppies. 

Miss  Sisson,  in  her  article  on  Children's  Plays  (Barnes*  Studies 
in  Education,  Vol.  1,  p.  171),  has  given  the  results  of  an  observational 
study  of  a  group  of  twenty-nine  kindergarten  children.  This  being  a 
kindergarten  connected  with  the  public  schools,  all  classes  of  children 
were  represented.  Daily  observations  were  made.  No  suggestions 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  51 

were  made  as  to  what  the  children  should  play.  They  soon  divided  into 
four  groups.  First,  the  larger  boys  who  played  somewhat  rough 
and  boisterous  games.  Second,  the  larger  girls  whose  games  were 
wholly  dramatic,  playing  house  and  school  in  rather  a  quiet  manner. 
Third  group  made  up  of  smaller  children  and  one  of  the  older  but 
more  bashful  girls.  Their  play  was  somewhat  broken  up  between 
short  games  and  running  from  one  part  of  the  yard  to  another.  The 
last  group  were  the  remainder  who  were  listless  or  backward  and 
took  very  little  interest  in  any  of  the  plays.  Plays  originated  from 
two  different  sources,  from  the  leader  or  because  of  the  special  in- 
terest of  the  game  itself.  But  both  were  suggested  by  the  environ- 
ment. Everything  that  took  place  around  them  was  "mirrored  in  their 
plays,"  observed  Miss  Sisson.  Whatever  they  played,  their  whole 
heart  was  in  it.  She  concludes:  "It  was  an  expression  of  the  chil- 
dren themselves  and  truer  than  any  set  exercise  or  experiment  could 
give." 

Aesthetic  Instinct. — The  aesthetic  instinct  acts  in  con- 
junction with  many  other  instincts.  In  the  mating  tendencies 
of  the  opposite  sexes,  it  plays  a  very  important  role.  In  the 
human  species  this  is  more  prominent  in  the  female  than  in 
the  male.  This  impulse  begins  to  show  itself  at  the  dawn  of 
puberty,  especially  in  the  female.  The  sex  phase  of  the 
aesthetic  instinct  seems  to  be  stronger  or  weaker  in  propor- 
tion as  the  sex  instinct  is  strong  or  weak. 

The  rhythmic  impulse  is  attended  in  its  functioning  by 
a  sense  of  the  beautiful — a  feeling  of  the  aesthetic  as  is  seen 
in  the  effect  of  poetry  or  dancing,  on  the  individual.     So,  toov 
do  the  expressive,  dramatic,  animistic,  and  constructive  in 
stincts  have  their  attending  aesthetic  phases. 

Since  the  aesthetic  instinct  functions  in  conjunction  with 
the  functioning  of  so  many  other  instincts,  its  development 
depends  in  a  great  measure  on  the  development  of  these  other 
instincts. 

Since  the  individual,  during  the  period  of  childhood,  is 
largely  sensory  and  motor  in  its  reactions  to  its  environment, 
we  find  the  aesthetic  impulse  has  its  basis  in  things  of  sense 
and  motion,  especially  in  color,  sound,  odor,  and  rhythm.  It 
should  be  noted  in  this  connection  that  the  more  fundamental 
aspects  of  the  beautiful  appeal  to  children  rather  than  the 
more  complex,  and  we  might  say,  accessory.  There  is  a 
genetic  order  here  as  elsewhere.  The  interest  in  the  more 
refined  aspects  is  nascent  in  adolescence. 

Appreciation  of  symmetry  and  beauty  of  form  seems  to 
develop  with  the  development  of  the  manual  skill  which  does 
not  come  very  long  before  puberty — not  until  the  accessory 
muscles  are  fairly  well  developed. 

In  the  matter  of  adjusting  pictures  to  the  native  interests 
of  the  child,  this  genetic  order  could,  to  advantage,  be  observed. 
In  general,  it  is  perhaps  safe  to  say  that  for  the  lower  grades 
there  should  be  more  color  and  motion,  though  not  of  such  low 
order  as  to  create  wrong  standards.  Masterpieces,  in  which 
animal  life  is  shown,  should  be  given.  In  general,  as  to  sub- 
ject matter,  pictures  should  show  that  in  which  the  child  is 
interested,  at  whatever  age,  and  in  artistic  execution  should 
range  up  through  the  grades  from  simple  to  complex. 

As  the  individual  approaches  adolescence,  his  interest  in 


52  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

beauty  of  form  and  color  deepens,  and  grows  more  refined  in 
his  work  in  drawing.  In  the  earlier  years  his  aesthetic  in- 
terest in  drawing  has  been  chiefly  that  of  color. 

Colin  Scott  has  shown  that  with  the  advent  of  the  pubertal 
functioning  of  the  sex  instinct,  and  increasingly  as  the  indi- 
vidual advances  through  the  years  of  adolescence,  the  appre- 
ciation of  the  elements  of  beauty  in  every  line  grows  keener. 
I  think  that  he  shows  conclusively  that  the  instinct  of  sex  and 
the  aesthetic  instinct  function  in  close  relationship  with  each 
other.  This  is  the  period  when  the  interest  in  the  beauty 
aspect,  along  whatever  line,  is  nascent.  This  is  the  time  to 
do  much  in  literature,  art,  music,  and  skilful  work  in  manual 
training. 

Groos  thinks  that  though  the  aesthetic  impulse  may  not  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  lower  animals,  yet  he  thinks  the  germ  of  it  is  there. 
He  thinks  it  is  displayed  in  three  forms,  self-exhibition,  imitation  and 
decoration.  He  says:  "The  bird  that  adorns  his  nest  imitates  the 
example  of  others,  and  expresses  his  personality  in  the  work.  The 
bird  that  mimics  another  often  effects  the  improvement  in  his  own 
song,  and  indulges  in  self-exhibition;  and  the  bird  that  displays  his 
skill  to  admiring  females  does  not  fail  to  employ  the  principles  of 
imitation  and  decoration.  So  we  find  in  animals,  and  especially  in 
birds  who,  though  so  distantly  related  to  us,  seem  by  reason  of  their 
upright  carriage  more  near,  a  certain  analogy  to  our  own  system  of 
arts." 

Miss  Martin,  in  the  American  Journal  of  Psychology,  January, 
1905,  gives  the  results  of  experiments  made  by  her  on  the  comic,  a 
phase  of  the  aesthetic  instinct.  She  found  the  comic  impression  from 
a  picture  decreases  by  repeated  exposures;  that  "the  presence  of  a 
smiling  or  doleful  face  in  a  picture  increases  its  funniness;  that  in- 
creasing the  size  of  a  picture  and  moving  it,  helps  its  funniness;  that 
looking  at  comic  and  other  pictures  and  listening  to  jokes  increased 
both  the  rapidity  of. the  breathing  and  of  the  pulse."  Earl  Barnes 
reports  a  study  made  by  himself  on  London  children  (Studies  in 
Education,  Vol.  2,  p.  180).  He  wanted  to  know  what  they  considered 
"the  prettiest  thing."  Children  seven  and  eight  said  flowers,  animals 
and  dolls.  Little  children  seemed  to  prefer  dolls.  Landscape,  un- 
important with  children  of  seven  and  eight;  very  important,  however, 
with  children  of  twelve  and  thirteen.  "Buildings,  pictures  and  other 
works  of  art,"  he  found,  "are  not  strong  centers  around  which  to 
gather  artistic  feeling  at  any  time  in  the  elementary  school." 

Sex  Instinct. — It  is  a  question  whether  sex  impulses  as 
such  are  experienced  during  the  period  of  childhood,  except  in 
abnormal  cases.  These  impulses  begin  to  appear  in  greater 
or  less  degree  during  the  juvenile  period — the  period  of  boy- 
hood and  girlhood,  especially  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
period,  just  preceding  puberty.  But  at  puberty  a  great  change 
takes  place.  During  puberty  and  early  adolescence,  these 
sex  tendencies  become  tremendous  forces  in  the  individual, 
and  the  problem  of  education  is  how  to  long-circuit  and  subli- 
mate them  into  higher  forms  of  psychic  life.  The  problem  is 
how  best  to  assist  adolescents  in  crossing  this  pons  so  that  they 
will  arrive  safely  at  sexual  maturity  and  that,  during  this 
period,  sex  tendencies,  in  a  large  degree,  shall  have  been  trans- 
muted into  love  of  the  beautiful,  into  broad  human  sympathies, 
into  healthy  religious  tendencies,  as  well  as  right  ideals  and  a 
broad  outlook  on  the  future.  Along  no  other  line  can  parents 
and  teachers  do  more  and  better  work  in  insuring  the  future 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  53 

integrity  and  strength  of  family  life  and  in  improving  very 
materially  the  condition  of  eugenics,  than  in  more  intelligent 
and  faithful  work  along  the  lines  of  sex  education. 

Sex  differences  are  manifested  in  the  plays  and  games 
of  children.  This  is  perhaps  due  in  part  to  environment,  but 
it  is  also  due,  to  a  great  extent,  to  sex.  The  girl  is  interested 
more  in  the  doll  play  and  in  plays  that  act  out  domestic  life. 
Boys,  on  the  other  hand,  take  more  interest  in  rough  plays 
and  games  and  in  plays  that  are  related  to  the  occupations  of 
men.  While  much  of  this  is  due  to  social  environment,  yet  it 
no  doubt  has  a  sex  background. 

During  the  pubescent  period  there  appears  what  Dr.  Hall 
calls  callow  calf  love.  We  see  this  between  the  sexes  in  the 
upper  grammar  grades  and  the  early  part  of  the  high  school. 
We  note  it  in  such  games  as  drop-the-handkerchief,  and  Lon- 
don bridge.  It  is  also  seen  in  many  of  the  social  functions  of 
the  pubescent.  Boys  exhibit  this  sex  tendency  in  their  at- 
tempts at  showing  off,  such  as  walking  on  their  hands  and 
turning  somersaults,  etc.  Girls  often  reply  to  such  overtures 
by  pretending  not  to  notice  what  is  being  done  to  attract  their 
attention.  Agrain,  they  may  look  on  approvingly,  with  re- 
sponsive giggles.  Attachments  between  the  sexes  at  this  time 
are  of  short  duration. 

Later  on  in  adolescence  the  question  of  sex  attachments 
becomes  more  serious,  especially  with  girls  who  are.  by  nature, 
more  emotional  than  boys.  As  was  suggested  above,  these 
tendencies  should  be  long-circuited  and  sublimated  as  much 
as  possible :  but  I  believe  this  problem  can  be  solved  in  part 
by  the  method  of  katharsis.  Allow  the  girl,  and  the  boy  for 
that  matter,  to  read  love  stories  of  standard  quality.  In  this 
way  some  of  these  dangerous  tendencies  can  be  drafted  off. 
Much  wholesome  work  can  be  given  in  romantic  literature  that 
appeals  to  the  adolescent,  and  will  help  very  materially  in  the 
forming  of  right  ideals  and  standards  in  the  realm  of  the  sex 
tendencies. 

At  the  advent  of  puberty  there  is  a  parting  of  the  ways 
in  almost  every  respect,  in  the  physical  and  mental  traits  of  the 
sexes.  It  is  a  question  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to 
separate  the  sexes  in  practically  all  class  work.  In  early 
adolescence  one  advantage  in  separating  the  sexes  is  because 
the  girl  has  greater  power  to  draw  upon  her  forces  than  does 
the  boy.  The  presence  of  the  opposite  sex,  at  this  age,  often 
tends  to  the  stimulation  of  rivalry  and  emulation.  This  may 
easily  become  a  menace  to  the  girl's  health,  as  well  as  to  im- 
pair her  powers  of  maternity. 

Boys  and  girls  should  not  be  denied  the  privilege  of 
healthy  association  with  one  another.  This  is  necessary  to 
their  best  development.  The  mutual  stimulation  of  the  sexes 
is  necessary  to  an  all  around  development. 

The  aesthetic  instinct  is  closely  related  to  the  sex  impulse, 
for  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the  love  of  the  beautiful  is  very 
materially  augmented  with  the  advent  of  adolescence.  It  is 
held  by  many  that  the  aesthetic  instinct  grew  out  of  the  sex 


54  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

instinct,  or  perhaps  better,  that  it  evolved  with  the  sex  instinct. 
This  makes  it  possible  to  transform  or  sublimate  much  of  the 
sex  forces  into  a  love  of  the  beautiful. 

The  development  of  the  sex  instinct  augments  very  ma- 
terially the  development  of  the  imagination,  which  is  the 
great  creative  power  of  the  human  mind.  It  is  possible  to 
transmute  much  of  the  creative  principle  of  the  sex  instinct 
into  creative  forces  of  the  imagination  as  is  seen  in  mechanical 
inventions,  literary  creations,  and  masterpieces  in  sculpture 
and  painting. 

Groos  thinks  that  the  sex  instinct  is  expressed  in  the  form  of 
play  in  those  animals  that  have  a  period  of  youth.  "Such  phenomena," 
he  says,  "are  common  among  young  dogs  and  apes"  and  "in  an  ante- 
lope only  six  weeks  old."  In  the  adult,  courtship  is  carried  on,  ac- 
cording to  Groos,  in  various  ways;  by  chasing  each  other,  fluttering, 
dancing,  by  coyness  on  the  part  of  the  female,  by  displaying  form 
and  color,  by  chirping  and  singing  and  drumming,  etc. 

Sanford  Bell  has  a  valuable  study  on  "Love  between  the  Sexes" 
(American  Journal  of  Psychology,  July,  1902).  He  studied  the  periods 
of  childhood,  (three  to  eight)  and  the  juvenile  period,  (eight  to  twelve 
or  fourteen).  He  found  that  in  the  first  stage  the  demonstrations  are 
spontaneous,  profuse  and  unrestrained.  Shyness,  sense  of  shame,  or 
self-consciousness  are  absent.  They  do  not  know  as  yet  what  sex 
means.  If  there  is  shyness,  it  is  in  other  actions  as  well.  They 
manifest  their  affections  by  giving  gifts  and  sharing  choice  possessions. 
The  gift  is  valued  for  its  intrinsic  worth.  Through  these  early  attach- 
ments, refractory  children  become  docile.  Ideas  of  marriage  are  often 
present.  The  most  beautiful  and  attractive  children  are  usually  chosen 
or  are  favored.  Jealousy  is  prominent.  During  the  second  period, 
Bell  found  conditions  as  follows:  "It  is  characterized  by  the  appear- 
ance of  shyness,  of  modesty,  especially  in  girls  of  self-consciousness 
and  consequent  efforts  toward  self-repression;  by  the  inhibition  of 
the  spontaneous,  impulsive  love  demonstrations  so  freely  indulged  in 
during  the  previous  stage  (childhood).  Boys  are  more  secretive  than 
the  girls,  but  the  tendency  to  conceal  the  love  is  present  in  both." 
This  he  thinks  the  reason  why  there  were  fewer  returns  for  this 
period  than  for  the  previous  period.  They  were  more  successful  in 
hiding  their  love,  so  were  more  difficult  to  observe.  Pairing  was 
conspicuously  absent. 


PART  III. 

In  this  summary  a  cross-section  by  periods  will  be  made 
of  the  innate  or  instinctive  tendencies  treated  in  the  fore-going 
pages ;  also,  some  supplementary  matter  will  be  given. 

Four  stages  are  recognized,  infancy,  childhood,  juvenile 
and  adolescence,  with  three  transition  periods,  first  dentition, 
second  dentition,  and  pubescence.  The  first  period,  with 
which  we  are  specially  concerned,  is  that  of  childhood,  or  the 
kindergarten  period. 

From  birth  to  seven,  the  brain  grows  rapidly,  both  in  bulk 
and  weight,  but  after  four  the  rate  of  growth  falls  off  markedly. 
The  energy  of  the  brain  cells  is  being  consumed  in  their  own 
growth  and  the  putting  out  of. processes  to  connect  them  with 
other  cells.  It  is  a  period  of  structural  development — a  period 
of  preparation  for  future  functioning  and  its  correlative  on  the 
side  of  activity  is  play.  This  is  not  a  time  for  the  stress  and 
strain  of  serious  work,  but  is  the  period  of  spontaneity.  It  is 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  55 

truly  the  kindergarten  period.  This  is  the  period  when  the 
motor  and  sensory  areas  of  the  brain  are  functioning;  hence 
the  child's  motor  tendencies  should  be  allowed  to  function  in 
many  and  varied  ways  through  play  and  other  spontaneous 
channels.  Likewise,  he  should  be  abundantly  supplied  with 
sense  material.  This  is  a  period  of  activity  and  sense  objects. 
The  nerve  centers  that  control  the  large  fundamental  move- 
ments of  the  body  are  functioning  and  co-ordinations  are  being 
established.  These  centers  belong  to  the  lower  levels. 
Racially,  they  are  the  older  and  more  stable.  They  should 
have  their  inning  during  childhood.  The  later  and  finer  acces- 
sory movements  which  develop  during  the  juvenile  and  adoles- 
cent periods  depend  for  their  successful  functioning  on  how 
well  these  larger  and  more  fundamental  movements  are  de- 
veloped during  childhood. 

Based  on  the  child's  motor  tendencies,  as  well  as  on  his 
expressive  and  constructive  tendencies,  is  the  subject  of  draw- 
ing. Whatever  he  does  in  this  subject,  his  movements  should 
be  large  and  free  and  spontaneous.  There  is  a  tendency  for 
the  child  to  draw  what  is  in  his  mind,  rather  than  the  objects 
before  him.  It  is  more  a  tendency  to  express  than  to  represent. 
His  tendency  to  represent  things  in  his  drawings  does  not 
function  much  before  the  juvenile  period.  This  work  during 
childhood  may  be  called  picture  writing.  He  should  be  led  to 
tell  many  stories  in  this  picture  writing,  though  it  be  crude ; 
for  this  is  truly  expression  and  aids  much  in  this  aspect  of  his 
education. 

Related  to  this  work  in  which,  likewise,  the  instinctive 
tendencies  of  expression,  construction,  movement,  imitation 
and  play  are  involved,  is  the  work  in  sand,  clay,  paper-cutting, 
and  gift  work,  the  phase  of  the  work  given  being  that  involving 
only  the  larger,  freer  movements. 

This  is  the  period  for  the  individual  to  gain  such  mastery 
of  his  mother  tongue  that  the  subsequent  study  of  another 
language  will  not  tend  to  corrupt  his  pronunciation  or  English 
idiom.  It  is  a  question  whether  any  other  language  should  be 
taught  during  the  period  of  childhood  but  the  mother  tongue. 
Chief  emphasis  should  be  laid  on  the  Anglo-Saxon  element, 
which  represents  the  fundamentals  of  the  mother  tongue. 

The  principal  instincts  that  are  involved  in  the  child's 
learning  of  the  mother  tongue  are  the  expressive,  motor  and 
dramatic  instincts,  and  especially  the  instinct  of  imitation.  It 
is,  perhaps,  not  too  much  to  say  that  if  the  child  is  so  environed 
that  he  hears  nothing  but  choice  English,  imitation  will  do  the 
rest. 

The  child's  literary  and  historical  interests  center  in  the 
Mother  Goose  rhymes  and  jingles,  the  fairy  story,  and  the 
myth.  These  are  made  up  of  fragmentary  sense  pictures  in 
which  causal  relations  are  left  out.  They  are  the  true  basis, 
however,  for  later  work  in  literature  and  history  in  the  more 
mature  and  adult  sense  of  the  term.  The  historical  sense  does 
not  manifest  itself  much  before  the  ninth  or  tenth  year. 


56  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

The  child's  rhythmic  tendencies  have  much  to  do  in  cul- 
tivating his  literary  sense,  especially  for  poetry.  This  is  the 
basis  for  his  interest  in  rhymes  and  jingles,  as  well  as  for  his 
interest  in  dancing  and  other  rhythmic  movements  of  the  body. 
This  tendency  is  also  at  the  basis  of  his  interest  in  music. 

The  instinctive  tendencies  that  are  at  the  basis  of  his  in- 
terest in  the  fairy  story  and  myth  are  chiefly  the  animistic, 
hunting,  and  religious  instincts.  His  mythopoeic  tendencies, 
which  are  a  phase  of  his  animistic  tendencies,  are  very  active 
in  these  early  literary  forms.  This  is  his  attitude  toward  the 
world,  and  it  is  through  such  literary  forms  that  the  world 
must  be  revealed  to  him.  Through  myth  and  story,  much  of 
fear  is  purged  from  his  soul ;  he  is  brought  into  close  and  sym- 
pathetic relations  with  his  environment,  and  he  tends  to  get 
into  right  relations  with  those  forces  of  nature  that  are  above 
and  beyond  him,  and  thus  is  his  religious  nature  truly  culti- 
vated. 

Closely  related  to  his  literary  interests  is  his  interest  in 
nature  and  practically  the  same  tendencies  are  involved.  These 
subjects  should  be  closely  correlated.  The  collecting  instinct 
is  active  and  can  well  be  made  a  way  of  approach  in  leading 
the  child  to  an  interest  in  nature.  Imitation  acts  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  collecting  instinct,  so  that  the  child  collects  any- 
thing that  he  sees  others  collecting.  Nature  poetry  should  be 
closely  correlated  with  the  child's  work  in  nature  study. 

The  cause  and  effect  relations  that  belong  to  science  are 
not  within  the  comprehension  of  the  child.  These  powers  do 
not  belong  to  the  sensory-motor  areas,  but  belong  to  the  higher 
levels  and  mature  much  later.  His  interest  in  nature  is,  to  a 
great  extent,  mythopoeic.  He  is  not  interested  in  cause  and 
effect  relations,  but  his  thinking  is  fragmentary.  He  deals 
with  individual  objects  that  appeal  to  him  through  his  senses. 
In  the  natural  history  phase  of  his  interest  in  nature,  his  in- 
terest is  chiefly  in  collections,  but  not  in  the  classification  of 
these  collections. 

The  child  is  unable  to  grasp  ethical  relations;  hence  his 
moral  training  must  be  based  on  example  and  authority.  What 
is  allowed  him  is  right  and  what  denied  him  is  wrong.  This 
continues  to  be  the  condition  well  into  the  juvenile  period  and 
in  a  vanishing  degree  till  puberty.  The  child's  moral  stand- 
ards are  based  on  concrete  and  specific  facts.  Authority  itself 
is  a  fact  of  his  sense  experience.  Argument  and  reason  are 
not  to  be  used  in  the  moral  training  of  the  child.  Implicit  and 
prompt  obedience  should  be  exacted  of  him.  His  moral  sense 
is  automatic,  or  at  most  only  incipient. 

The  child's  imagination  is  very  active  and  his  discriminat- 
ing judgment  is  lacking.  As  a  result,  he  is  subject  to  illu- 
sions and  delusions,  especially  the  latter.  This  accounts,  in  a 
great  measure,  for  the  frequent  tendency  among  children  to 
lie.  This  apparently  evil  tendency  in  children  is  not  to  be 
taken  too  seriously,  for  usually  it  fades  out  as  the  child's  judg- 
ment develops. 

The  imagination  is  an  ever  present  element  in  practically 
all  of  the  instincts  that  function  during  the  period  of  child- 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  57 

hood.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  play  instinct.  Every  kind 
of  activity  that  the  child  is  interested  in  has  its  play  aspect. 
In  fact,  this  play  aspect  is  his  interest  in  the  activity,  so  that 
this  whole  summary  of  the  period  of  childhood  is  really  a  dis- 
cussion of  his  play  interests.  The  child's  emotions  are  im- 
pulsive and  with  little  depth.  He  is  wholly  self-centered.  He 
must  be  egoistic  in  order  that  later  he  may  be  altruistic.  This 
is  his  normal  condition.  The  child  cannot  apply  himself  to  one 
thing  for  any  length  of  time.  Control  and  inhibition  are  his 
in  small  degree. 

Following  the  period  of  childhood  is  a  brief  transition 
period  covering  about  two  years,  from  seven  to  nine.  It  is 
the  period  of  second  dentition  and  is  a  period  of  general  re- 
adjustment which  causes  many  disturbances.  Chewing  surface 
is  considerably  reduced ;  the  heart  is  not  well  adjusted  to  its 
work;  breathing  is  somewhat  affected;  more  susceptibility  to 
fatigue.  The  brain  has  practically  finished  its  growth  in  weight 
and  size. 

In  regard  to  the  tendencies  and  interests  of  the  individual 
during  this  period,  there  are  perhaps  none  peculiar  to  this 
period.  They  are,  on  the  one  hand,  tendencies  and  interests  of 
the  previous  period,  in  varying  degrees — either  fading  out, 
acting  with  equal  or  increasing  vigor;  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  are  incipient  tendencies  that  are  nascent  during  the  juve- 
nile period.  The  tendencies  and  interests  that  we  find  in  the 
individual  of  about  nine  years  of  age — the  beginning  of  the 
so-called  juvenile  period — have  already  been  functioning  in 
greater  or  less  degree  during  the  transition  period  just  men- 
tioned. There  should  be  as  little  stress  and  strain  as  possible 
during  this  transition  period. 

The  periods  of  infancy  and  childhood  were  periods  of 
rapid  brain  growth,  in  size  and  weight.  The  work  of  struc- 
tural development  and  neuro-muscular  co-ordination  are  now 
well  under  way  at  the  age  of  nine,  the  beginning  of  the  juvenile 
period.  This  was  well  begun  during  the  transition  period  just 
described.  In  this  co-ordination  the  muscles  are  co-ordinated 
in  their  actions  with  the  emotions  and  the  intellect.  As  com- 
pared with  the  fancies  of  childhood,  the  imagination  has 
advanced  considerably  in  its  development,  due  especially  to 
the  growth  of  discriminating  judgment.  Imagination  is  still  of 
rather  a  low  order  as  compared  with  the  imagination  of  the 
adolescent. 

Motor  tendencies  are  nascent  during  this  period.  Growth 
is  much  slower  and  on  this  account  there  seems  to  be  an  ac- 
cumulation of  energy.  The  juvenile  has  great  power  to  resist 
disease  and  fatigue.  He  is  capable  of  much  mental  drudgery. 
He  is  very  active,  due  to  this  superabundance  of  energy.  This 
is  the  time  for  drill,  habituation,  and  mechanism. 

These  motor  tendencies  are  closely  bound  up  with  general 
mental  development.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  relation- 
ship between  the  hand  and  the  brain.  The  motor  and  con- 
structive tendencies  function  together  and  make  possible  much 
work  in  manual  training.  Activity  is  no  longer  an  end  in  itself, 


58  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

but  the  interest  is  rather  in  what  may  be  accomplished  through 
the  activity.  For  this  reason  the  juvenile  should  be  allowed  to 
make  that  for  which  he  will  have  some  immediate  use.  Utility, 
rather  than  skill,  should  be  sought  now.  Co-ordinations  of  the 
finer  muscles  have  sufficiently  taken  place  in  the  hand,  vocal 
apparatus,  and  eye,  so  that  this  may  be  considered  the  nascent 
period,  for  writing,  drawing  beginning  work  in  manual  train- 
ing, and  reading ;  also  the  acquiring  of  technique  on  musical 
instruments.  This  is  the  best  time  to  learn  correct  pronun- 
ciation of  a  foreign  language. 

The  expressive  instinct  is  functioning  vigorously  at  this 
time,  and  in  conjunction  with  the  constructive  and  motor  in- 
stincts, much  effective  work  may  be  done  in  drawing.  There 
should  be  much  drawing  as  a  form  of  expression.  He  should 
represent,  in  the  form  'of  drawing,  things  as  he  sees  them, 
whether  an  object  of  sense,  or  an  object  of  thought — a  mental 
picture  drawn  from  the  fields  of  literature  and  history.  In 
such  a  way,  a  true  foundation  is  laid  for  art. 

The  work  in  expression  during  this  period  should  be 
chiefly  oral.  The  short  circuit  from  ear  to  mouth  should  be 
used  because  it  is  biologically  much  older  and  hence  more 
fundamental  than  the  long  circuit  from  eye  to  hand,  which  is 
recent  in  its  origin.  Hence,  written  composition  should  be 
subordinated  to  oral  expression.  In  this  way,  the  child  will 
be  led  to  write  as  he  speaks  and  this  fluency  and  cogency  will 
be  established  in  the  use  of  the  pen.  The  expressive  instinct, 
if  allowed  to  function  normally,  leads  the  individual  to  ex- 
press that  which  is  within,  but  through  wrong  methods  it  is 
often  perverted  and  arrested  in  its  development,  and  is  made 
bookish  and  formal. 

The  instinct  of  expression  may  function  in  an  effective 
way  through  song.  The  child's  emotions  may  flow  out 
through  this  avenue  of  expression  and  through  this  method  of 
cultivating  the  emotions  he  may  be  taught  to  love  home  and 
fatherland;  to  come  into  closer  harmony  with  nature  and  to 
experience  a  true  religious  growth. 

Since  the  expressive  instinct  is  nascent  at  this  time,  and 
verbal  memory  active,  and  since  language  interests  run  high, 
this  is  the  fitting  time  to  teach  the  child  the  rudiments  of 
whatever  foreign  languages  he  is  to  learn.  If  anything  is  ever 
to  be  done  in  Latin  and  Greek,  the  work  should  be  begun  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  this  period.  No  work  in  grammar  should 
be  introduced.  This  belongs  to  a  later  period. 

Through  the  functioning  of  the  self-regarding  instinct, 
together  with  related  instincts  as  rivalry  and  emulation,  the 
child  is  interested  in  biography  and  hero  stories.  Through  his 
interest  in  the  hero  story,  the  child  should  be  made  acquainted 
with  the  great  characters  of  these  literary  sources,  as  Ulysses, 
Aeneas,  Siegfried,  King  Arthur,  etc.  Also  Old  Testament 
characters.  These  stories  will  help  very  materially  in  forming 
right  ideals  and  in  cultivating  a  taste  for  good  literature.  These 
tendencies  and  interests  form  the  way  of  approach  in  teaching 
history  as  well.  It  should  be  taught  in  the  form  of  story  and 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  59 

biography.  In  fact,  we  might  say  that  literature  and  history 
are  one  and  the  same  thing  Here,  if  the  historical  matter  used 
has  a  literary  style.  Otherwise,  there  is  a  slight  divergence. 

Self-assertion  is  shown  in  many  of  the  games  played.  This 
is  due,  in  great  measure,  to  motor  tendencies  in  which  co- 
ordinations are  being  well  established.  In  such  games,  the 
instincts  of  rivalry  and  emulation  function  vigorously.  In  the 
earlier  part  of  the  period,  many  games  are  still  played  in  which 
imitation  is  present;  but  this  becomes  a  vanishing  quantity 
with  the  development  of  motor  and  self-assertive  tendencies. 
Later  in  this  period,  as  the  gregarious  instinct  makes  itself 
felt,  there  is  a  tendency  to  play  co-operative  and  group  games. 
Tendencies  that  belonged  to  the  individual  are  passing  over  to 
the  group.  The  instinct  of  co-operation  is  still  too  weak  to 
hold  these  groups  together  any  length  of  time. 

The  functioning  of  the  gregarious  instinct  during  the  lat- 
ter part  of  this  period  leads  to  an  interest  in  his  fellows  rather 
than  in  adults.  Boys  and  girls  are  interested  in  members  of 
their  own  sex  who  are  of  about  their  own  age.  This  instinct, 
especially  a  little  later,  leads  to  the  forming  of  clubs  and  gangs. 
Such  organizations,  if  properly  directed,  may  be  turned  to 
educational  account.  This  is  the  point  of  contact  in  the  social 
education  of  the  child.  Beginnings  may  be  made  here  in  cul- 
tivating altruism,  though  there  is  still  much  selfishness, 
thoughtlessness,  and  cruelty  in  the  individual  at  this  time.  His 
hunting  instinct  is  functioning  now.  This  leads  him  to  go  out 
on  predatory  expeditions,  to  steal  and  destroy.  This  is  the 
time  when  the  boy  wantonly  destroys  life.  The  collecting  in- 
stinct is  active  now  and  there  is  a  tendency  to  classify,  in  a 
crude  way,  what  is  collected.  The  collecting  and  hunting  in- 
stincts should  be  taken  advantage  of  in  leading  the  child  to  an 
interest  in  nature,  which  now  may  be  made  a  natural  history 
interest.  The  aesthetic  instinct  which  is  functioning  in  a 
crude  way  may  be  enlisted  here  in  making  collections  of  beau- 
tiful objects.  Immediately  bound  up  with  these  interests  is 
the  interest  in  geography,  which  should  be  chiefly  home  geog- 
raphy. The  juvenile  should  be  made  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  his  environment — not  only  its  topography  and  its  natural 
history,  but  also  he  should  become  acquainted  with  its  indus- 
tries. The  juvenile  is  interested  chiefly  in  action,  so  that 
in  the  work  in  literature  he  is  interested  chiefly  in  narrative. 
This  narrative  literature  should  have  much  of  the  heroic  ele- 
ment, but  action  should  be  the  predominating  element,  whether 
prose  or  poetry.  Since  verbal  memory  is  very  active,  much 
choice  material  from  literature  should  be  committed  to  mem- 
ory. Based  on  his  interest  in  animal  life,  much  work  should 
be  given  in  nature  literature. 

His  moral  and  religious  tendencies  are  not  very  active 
yet.  In  his  moral  training,  reasoning  should  still  be  absent 
to  a  great  extent.  It  should  be  based  on  authority.  He 
should  be  trained  to  habits  of  obedience.  On  the  side  of  his 
religious  tendencies,  form  and  ceremony  appeal  to  him.  He 
should  be  trained  to  habits  of  respect  and  reverence. 


60  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

The  first  two  years  of  the  adolescent  period  are  usually 
known  as  the  pubescent  period.  This  is  a  period  of  radical 
readjustment,  both  physically  and  mentally.  It  is  a  period  of 
greatest  bodily  growth.  The  heart  grows  more  rapidly,  pro- 
portionately, than  do  the  blood  vessels,  causing  an  increase  in 
blood  pressure.  The  chest  capacity  increases  markedly.  The 
sex  organs  are  developing.  Brain  cells  are  taking  on  their 
final  form  and  function,  as  to  grouping,  centers  and  connec- 
tions. There  is  now  a  rapid  development  of  association  fibers. 
There  is  a  great  tendency  to  nervous  disorders.  There  is  often 
a  disproportionate  growth  of  bones  and  muscles,  which  causes 
awkwardness.  Motor  tendencies  revert,  to  a  certain  extent, 
to  functioning  through  the  fundamental  muscles.  Emotional 
tendencies  take  definite  shape  and  dominate  the  life.  They 
appear  in  such  forms  as  anger,  jealousy,  fear,  love,  pity,  rivalry, 
emulation.  The  individual  is  pugnacious,  sympathetic,  lazy, 
self-conscious,  ooetic.  romantic,  self-sacrificing,  self-assertive, 
moral,  immoral,  given  to  revery  and  dav  dreams — he  can  be 
almost  all  of  these  in  a  short  space  of  time.  This  is  a  new 
birth  and  the  self  is  reaching  out  in  many  directions. 

Hereditary  tendencies  now  come  upon  the  stage  and  fight 
for  mastery.  Life  becomes  real  and  serious.  Heroism  and 
criminality  may  now  become  real  in  the  life.  There  is  a  ten- 
dencv  to  be  influenced  by  adults,  rather  than  by  companions. 

The  self-regard  ing  instinct  is  nascent.  Its  manifestations 
are  seen  in  bashfulness,  self-consciousness,  self-assertion, 
modesty,  reverence,  resoect,  docility,  shame,  boasting,  swag- 
gering, vanity,  and  fool-hardiness.  Through  the  right  func- 
tioning of  these  tendencies  the  individual  finds  his  true  place 
as  a  member  of  society.  The  functioning  of  these  tendencies 
has  much  to  Ho  with  his  interest  in  literature  and  history.  The 
instincts  of  rivalry  and  emulation  are  closely  related  and  aid 
in  creating  this  interest.  With  the  aid  of  imagination,  these 
tendencies  have  much  to  do  in  the  forming  of  ideals.  Through 
the  functioning  of  thece  tendencies,  the  individual  grows  in- 
trospective. If  normal,  he  thus  gets  a  true  perspective  of 
himself.  This  passes  over  into  self-respect  and  out  of  this 
grows  a.  phase  of  altruism — a  respect  for  the  rights  of  others. 

The  instinct  of  curiosity  is  now  very  strong.  There  is 
scarcely  a  thing  in  which  the  adolescent  may  not  be  made  in- 
terested. 

The  collecting  instinct  is  still  functioning,  and  in  addition 
to  its  scientific  aspect,  it  takes  on  a  social  aspect.  There  is 
often  much  sentiment  attached  to  the  things  collected.  It 
sometimes  becomes  a  fad. 

During  the  period  of  pubescence,  and  adolescence  immed- 
iately following,  the  expressive  tendencies  are  not  equal  to 
the  task  of  expressing  what  is  in  the  soul.  Impression  is  now 
much  greater  than  expression.  Examinations  are  by  no  means 
a  true  test  of  what  the  youth  knows  and  feels. 

The  rhythmic  instinct  functions  now  in  its  highest  forms. 
With  the  aesthetic  instinct,  it  is  at  the  basis  of  the  auditory 
appeal  in  literature  and  music.  The  adolescent  enjoys  the  very 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  61 

highest  forms  of  poetry.  These  two  tendencies  should  be 
stimulated  far  more  than  they  are,  by  giving  more  work  in 
poetry  and  music  in  the  schools.  Work  in  nature  study  may 
be  correlated  with  literature.  The  adolescent  is  keenly  alive  to 
the  beauties  of  nature,  poetry  and  music. 

The  constructive,  aesthetic,  and  expressive  instincts  are  at 
the  basis  of  the  work  in  drawing  in  which  now  the  art  aspect 
should  be  emphasized.  Masterpieces  should  be  available  in 
great  works  of  art  to  aid  in  building  up  right  ideals  and  stand- 
ards of  beauty  in  art. 

It  is  during  the  adolescent  period  that  the  moral  instinct, 
in  a  true  sense,  functions.  This  instinct  functions  in  connec- 
tion with  the  self-regarding  instinct,  and  leads  the  individual 
to  conform  his  life  to  standards  making  for  his  own  good,  and 
for  the  good  of  others.  Through  these  instincts  and  the  gre- 
garious instinct  he  comes  to  know  his  true  place  in  relation  to 
those  about  him. 

The  general  condition  of  readjustment  during  the  early 
part  of  the  adolescent  period — the  pubescent — with  its  attend- 
ing uncontrolled  emotions  brings  on  a  feeling  of  unrest  which 
appears  in  one  form  in  the  functioning  of  the  migratory  in- 
stinct. This  is  the  runaway  and  truant  period.  This  feeling 
of  elsewhereness  may  be  worked  off  through  manual  training 
and  excursions  to  study  nature  first  hand. 

In  the  true  sense,  the  religious  instinct  functions,  with  the 
dawn  of  adolescence,  usually  during  its  first  part,  pubescence. 
The  religious  instinct  is  closely  bound  up  with  the  sex  in- 
stinct in  its  functioning.  It  is  a  transition  from  egoism  to 
altruism ;  a  coming  into  harmony  with  the  great  forces  about 
him.  This  pons  must  be  crossed,  whether  suddenly  or  slowly, 
else  the  self  must  ever  live  within  narrow  bounds.  He  must 
come  into  harmony  with  this  larger  life  and  be  guided  by  it. 
There  is  a  sense  of  incompleteness.  Dimly  he  feels  a  larger 
world  into  which  he  would  enter.  This  upward  and  outward 
push  of  the  soul  can  be  fostered  and  satisfied,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, through  contemplating  the  great  forces  of  nature  and 
through  the  study  of  literature,  in  which  sublimity  and  grandeur 
and  beauty  are  found,  reflecting  these  elements  as  found  in 
nature  and  in  the  lives  of  men. 

The  play  instinct  should  be  allowed  to  function  in  har- 
mony with  the  other  tendencies  of  the  adolescent.  They  should 
develop  the  social  consciousness.  They  should  develop  manly 
and  womanly  qualities.  They  should  cultivate  altruism. 
Through  them  dangerous  emotional  tendencies  should  find  a 
vent  and  be  sublimated  to  higher  forms  of  functioning.  Co- 
operative and  "group  games  are  chiefly  in  order  now.  Such 
games  as  foot-ball,  basket-ball,  base-ball  and  tennis  are  usually 
played  at  this  time. 

At  the  advent  of  puberty,  the  sex  instinct  begins  to  func- 
tion. As  has  been  shown  in  the  discussion  of  the  other  ten- 
dencies of  adolescence,  it  brings  with  it  radical  changes  all 
along  the  line.  There  is  a  parting  of  the  ways  in  almost 
every  respect  between  the  sexes  at  this  time.  The  question 


62  INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION. 

for  education  to  solve  in  this  matter  of  sex  education,  is  how 
to  sublimate  these  sex  tendencies  and  to  transform  them  into 
higher  forms  of  psychic  life.  Many  tendencies  are  radiations 
from  sex,  chief  of  which  is  the  aesthetic.  By  stimulating  this 
tendency  through  art,  literature  and  the  study  of  nature,  sex 
tendencies  may  be  sublimated  to  higher  planes  of  functioning. 

The  characteristic  differences  between  the  sexes  may  be 
noted  as  follows:  In  the  boy,  reflection  and  judgment  are 
more  strongly  developed.  He  loves  adventure;  is  more  cour- 
ageous, independent  and  patriotic.  The  girl  is  more  sentiT 
mental;  more  sensitive  to  what  people  say  and  think  of  her. 
Her  sympathies  are  keener;  her  moral  impulses  are  stronger; 
she  is  more  religious.  Her  powers  of  imagination  are 
stronger;  her  intuitions  truer.  She  acquires  reserve,  dignity, 
and  poise  much  sooner  than  does  the  boy. 

cln  conclusion,  we  may  say,  the  way  of  approach  to  the 
child  is  through  his  native  interests,  which,  in  turn,  are  con- 
ditioned by  his  innate  or  instinctive  tendencies.  He  is  ad- 
justed to  his  environment  largely  through  imitation.  Play  is 
training  for  later  serious  activities.  The  functioning  of  early 
tendencies  conditions  the  functioning  of  later  ones;  funda- 
mental development  conditions  accessory.  There  is  a  law  of 
succession  here,  based  on  recapitulation.  Plasticity  and 
adaptability  depend  on  the  number  and  variety  of  tendencies 
stimulated  to  function.  The  innate  tendencies  are  the  forces 
in  the  child's  life  that  initiate  experience,  which,  passing  over 
into  habit,  leads  to  character  building.  In  character  building 
the  innate  tendencies  furnish  the  impelling  forces,  while  en- 
vironment furnishes  the  content. 

The  highest  laws  of  life,  and  therefore  of  education,  are 
the  laws  whose  foundations  are  on  the  very  bed-rock  of  in- 
stinctive tendencies,  which  represent  the  very  best  that  the 
past  has  to  offer  the  present ;  for  these  race  tendencies  are 
those  forces  that  made  for  good  in  the  lives  of  our  forebears. 
Therefore,  a  true  knowledge  of  how  best  to  educate  the  child 
must  be  obtained  through  the  study  of  instinct  as  related  to 
education. 


INSTINCT  AS  RELATED  TO  EDUCATION.  63 


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